The push of political violence: How exposure to violent political action impacts perceived violence, and political support

Abstract Increases in support for the Make America Great Again (MAGA) political movement and decreases in support for Black Lives Matter (BLM) colloquially fluctuate with media coverage that downplayed MAGA violence while overcovering BLM violence. This experiment investigates how exposure to media portrayals of political violence (i.e. violent and destructive protesting) impacts political support among both real‐world contexts. In Experiment 1, exposure to violent MAGA protests decreased MAGA support from MAGA's staunchest supporters, an effect mediated by perceptions of violent behavior and tendencies of the protestors. In Experiment 2, exposure to violent BLM protests had virtually no impact on political support and an inconclusive impact on perceptions of violent behavior and tendencies in the protestors. The asymmetric effects observed suggest differential baseline exposure to violent political content: MAGA supporters appear responsive to violent media portrayals because media exposure to violent MAGA behavior is relatively novel within conservative media streams, whereas BLM supporters’ relative lack of response is consistent with media saturation where BLM violence was exaggerated within the media. Consequently, underexposure to MAGA‐associated violence and overexposure to BLM‐associated violence may help explain recent political shifts both toward MAGA and away from BLM. More broadly, media suppression and exaggeration of political violence represent two methods for shaping political support and political power, highlighting the importance of accurate media coverage of political violence.