A disturbing new report reveals that violent political rhetoric online, including calls for the murder of public figures like President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, is being increasingly normalized, particularly on the left.
The report, from Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), found that a growing number of people are willing to justify and even applaud killing in the name of politics and a warped sense of social justice. The chilling change appears to have accelerated in recent months.
“What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable,” Joel Finkelstein, the lead author of the report, told Fox News Digital. “We are seeing a clear shift – glorification, increased attempts and changing norms – all converging into what we define as ‘assassination culture.’”
The NCRI study traces the cultural shift back to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione in December 2024. What followed, researchers say, was a viral wave of memes that turned Mangione into a folk hero.
According to the study, these memes have sparked copycat behavior targeting other figures associated with wealth and conservative politics.
NEW STUDY FINDS DEI INITIATIVES CREATING ‘HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS’
“It’s not just Luigi anymore,” Finkelstein said. “We’re seeing an expansion: Trump, Musk and others are now being openly discussed as legitimate targets, often cloaked in meme culture and gamified online dialogue.”
A ballot measure in California, darkly named the Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act, is just one real-world outgrowth of this online movement.
In this chart, over half of left-leaning respondents said killing Donald Trump would be at least “somewhat justified,” according to NCRI’s national survey. The study found that 55% of self-identified left-of-center participants justified Trump’s assassination to some degree, while 48% did the same for Elon Musk. Researchers say the findings reflect a growing tolerance for political violence among ideological extremists. (Network Contagion Research Institute)
NCRI conducted a nationally representative survey of more than 1,200 U.S. adults, weighted to reflect national census demographics. The findings were stark: Some 38% of respondents said it would be at least “somewhat justified” to murder Donald Trump, and 31% said the same about Elon Musk.
When counting only left-leaning respondents, justification for killing Trump rose to 55% and Musk to 48%.
“These are not isolated opinions,” the report states. “They are part of a tightly connected belief system linked to what we call left-wing authoritarianism.”
COLORADO MAN FEDERALLY CHARGED IN TESLA FIREBOMB ATTACK: ‘JUSTICE IS COMING,’ AG PAM BONDI SAYS
“Trump represents the perfect target for assassination culture. He’s powerful, he’s rich and he’s provocative,” said Finkelstein to Fox News Digital. “That puts him on the highest shelf for those who glorify political violence.”
“Trump represents the perfect target for assassination culture. He’s powerful, he’s rich and he’s provocative. That puts him on the highest shelf for those who glorify political violence.”
When asked whether destroying a Tesla dealership was justified, nearly four in 10 respondents agreed it was, to some degree. Among self-identified left-of-center participants, support for vandalism and property damage was significantly higher.
“Property destruction wasn’t just an outlier opinion, it clustered tightly with support for political assassinations and other forms of violence,” said Finkelstein. “This points to a coherent belief system, not just isolated grievances.”
Among left-of-center respondents, a large share rated the murder of Trump and Musk as either “somewhat” or “completely justified,” according to this histogram. The chart highlights the skew in support for political violence along ideological lines, with far-left participants scoring highest across all metrics. (Network Contagion Research Institute)
“Tesla has become a stand-in for broader frustrations about capitalism, tech power and conservative politics. Burning down a dealership isn’t just a protest, it’s a performance, a signal of belonging to a radical in-group.”
Finkelstein said that while some level of violent sentiment exists on the right, “What we found was a statistically higher endorsement of political murder on the left, 41% more than among right-leaning participants.”
The report singles out BlueSky, a social media platform favored by progressive users, as a major amplifier of extremist ideation.
“BlueSky was modeled as a safe alternative to Twitter for the left, but what it’s become is an extremist platform,” Finkelstein said. “It functions today much like 4chan or Gab once did for far-right ideologies. These platforms are now lead indicators of violent real-world trends.”
This correlation matrix shows that support for assassinations, property destruction and Mangione are all tightly linked, forming a belief system NCRI calls “assassination culture.” The study finds that left-wing authoritarianism was the strongest predictor for all categories of political violence. (Network Contagion Research Institute)
According to NCRI’s open-source analysis, BlueSky saw a spike in engagement on posts referencing Mangione, Trump and Musk, crossing over 200,000 posts and 2 million engagements in just months. Reddit currently hosts pro-Mangione communities with tens of thousands of members.
Finkelstein believes the psychological roots of “assassination culture” are a mix of ideological radicalism and feelings of powerlessness, particularly in the aftermath of electoral losses.
“When people feel like they have no say, no future and no leadership offering vision, they become susceptible to radical ideation,” he said. “And that’s when the memes turn into permission structures for real violence.”
Multivariate regression analysis reveals that far-left ideology, the use of BlueSky and a sense of powerlessness (external locus of control) are the leading predictors of support for political violence. The chart breaks down which psychological and demographic traits most strongly align with justifying the murder of Musk and Trump or attacks on Tesla dealerships. (Network Contagion Research Institute)
A key predictor identified in the study is external locus of control, which is the belief that one’s life is governed by outside forces.
“Combine that with extreme partisanship, and you get an explosive mix,” Finkelstein said.
Finkelstein does not believe censorship will end “assassination culture,” but strong leadership just might.
“We are not an anti-free speech organization,” said Finkelstein. “But we know what a threat is. And what’s happening online on platforms like BlueSky represents a significant threat to American democratic values. If leaders on the left explicitly condemn these trends and reassert moral norms, they can dismantle this culture quickly,” he said. “It’s about reminding people there is a future worth striving for that doesn’t involve glorifying political violence.”
“It’s about reminding people there is a future worth striving for that doesn’t involve glorifying political violence.”
The NCRI report ends on a sobering note: The normalization of assassination ideation is already spilling into real-world violence. Whether it’s attacks on Tesla dealerships or assassination attempts on public officials, the NCRI warns that political violence is no longer fringe but culturally fashionable in some corners of the internet.
“With economic instability and ideological echo chambers feeding radicalism, the threat environment is shifting beneath our feet,” Finkelstein said. “But recognizing that – hearing the sirens – is the first step to stopping it.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Network Contagion Research Institute describes itself as a “neutral and independent organization whose mission is to identify and forecast cyber-social threats and report on them in a timely fashion.”
