A disturbing new report shows violent political rhetoric online, including calls for the murder of public figures President Donald Trump Elon Musk is becoming increasingly standardized, especially on the left.
The report comes from the Cyber Infectious Research Institute (NCRI), and finds that more and more people are willing to prove even applaud and kill in the name of politics and a distorted sense of social justice. In recent months, fearsome changes seem to have accelerated.
Joel Finkelstein, the lead author of the report, told Fox News that “the previous taboos have become culturally acceptable.” “We have seen obvious shifts – glory, increased attempts and normative changes – all gathered in what we define as ‘assassination culture.”
NCRI research traces cultural shifts back to the shift in Luigi Mangione’s December 2024 assassination of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.
According to the study, these memes trigger imitation behaviors against other numbers related to wealth and conservative politics.
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“It’s not just Luigi,” Finkelstein said. “We’re seeing an expansion: Trump, Musk and others are now publicly discussed as legitimate goals, often covered up in meme culture and online conversations with games.”
A voting measure in California, named by the dark as Luigi Mangione into the health care bill is just one real-world reality of the online movement.
In this chart, more than half of left-leaning respondents said the killing of Donald Trump was at least “somewhat reasonable.” The study found that 55% of self-identified central participants somehow proved Trump’s assassination justified, and 48% of participants’ behavior towards Elon Musk. The findings reflect the tolerance of ideological extremists towards political violence, the researchers say. (Internet Infection Research Institute)
NCRI conducted a nationally representative survey of more than 1,200 U.S. adults to reflect the national census demographic. The survey results are clear: About 38% of respondents said that at least the murder of Donald Trump was “somewhat reasonable” and 31% said About Elon Musk.
When only left-leaning respondents were counted, the reason for killing Trump rose to 55%, and musk rose to 48%.
“These are not isolated opinions,” the report states. “They are part of a closely linked belief system associated with what we call left-wing authoritarianism.”
“Trump represents the ideal goal of assassination culture. He is strong, he is rich, and his provocativeness,” Finkelstein told Fox News Digital. “This makes him the highest airs for those who glorify political violence.”
“Trump represents the ideal goal of assassination culture. He is strong, he is rich, and his provocativeness. This makes him the highest shelf for those who glorify political violence.”
When asked if Destroy Tesla dealers There is reason, to some extent agree that it makes sense. Support for vandalism and property damage was significantly higher among the central participants of self-identity.
“Real estate destruction is not only an unusual view, but it gathers closely in favor of political assassination and other forms of violence,” Finkelstein said. “This shows a coherent system of belief, not just isolated dissatisfaction.”
According to this ever-changing picture, a large proportion of the central left-wing respondents viewed Trump and Musk’s murder as “some” or “completely reasonable.” The chart highlights the skewed bias towards political violence along the ideology, with left-wing participants scoring the highest scores of all indicators. (Internet Infection Research Institute)
“Tesla has become an alternative to broader frustrations of capitalism, technological power and conservative politics. Burning out dealers is not only a protest, it is a manifestation, a signal that belongs to radical groups.”
While there is some level of violence on the right, “we find statistically higher on the left for political murder, 41% higher than 41% of the right-leaning participants.”
The report picked out Bluesky, a social media platform favored by progressive users and the main amplifier of extremist ideas.
“Brusky is modeled as safe Alternative Twitter For the left, it’s an extremist platform,” Finkelstein said, “Today’s function is like what 4chan or Gab once did to the far-right ideology. These platforms are now the main indicators of violent real-world trends. ”
This correlation matrix shows that the support for assassination, property destruction and Mangione are closely linked, forming a belief system called NCRI “assassination culture.” The study found that left-wing authoritarianism is the strongest predictor of all political violence. (Internet Infection Research Institute)
According to NCRI’s open source analysis, Bluesky saw reference articles, posts by Trump and Musk, spanning more than 200,000 positions and 2 million positions in just a few months. Reddit currently has a pro-Menjean community with thousands of members.
Finkelstein believes that the psychological roots of the “assassination culture” are ideological radicalism and a sense of powerlessness, especially after election losses.
“When people feel like they have no say, no future, and no leadership to provide their vision, they are vulnerable to radical conception,” he said. “That’s when memes turn into licensing structures that are truly violent.”
Multiple regression analysis shows that left-wing ideology, use of the Blues and the feeling of powerlessness (outside source of control) are major predictors of support for political violence. The chart breaks down psychological and demographic characteristics with the rationality of murdering Musk and Trump or the strongest attack on Tesla dealerships. (Internet Infection Research Institute)
A key predictor identified in the study is the external source of control, a belief that a person’s life is dominated by external forces.
“Put it together with extreme partisan collaboration and you’ll get an explosive mix,” Finkelstein said.
Finkelstein does not believe that censorship will end the “culture of assassination”, but strong leadership can end.
“We are not Unopposed speech Organizations,” Finkelstein said. “But we know what the threat is. What happens online on platforms like Blues poses a major threat to American democratic values. He said that if left-wing leaders explicitly condemn these trends and redefine moral codes, they can quickly dismantle the culture. It’s about reminding people that there is a future worth working on, and that doesn’t involve glorious political violence. ”
“It’s about reminding people that there is a future worth working on that doesn’t involve glorious political violence.”
The NCRI report ends with a striking note: the normalization of the assassination concept has spilled into the violence in the real world. Whether it is an attack on Tesla dealerships or an assassination attempt on public officials, NCRI warns that political violence is no longer fringe, but culturally fashionable in some corners of the internet.
“With economic instability and feeding activism in the ideological echo chamber, the threat environment is shifting under our feet,” Finkelstein said. “But realizing – hearing the sirens – is the first step to stop it.”
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The Cyber Infectious Research Institute describes itself as a “neutral and independent organization with a mission to identify and predict cyber social threats and report them in a timely manner.”
