Fact check: Is violence more prevalent on right or left

1. Summary of the results

The analyses provided suggest that there is no clear consensus on whether violence is more prevalent on the right or left ^[1]. According to one source, Americans are split on the issue, with 31% saying left-wing violence is a bigger problem and 33% saying right-wing violence is a bigger problem ^[1]. Another source reports that 33% of respondents said violence is perpetrated mostly by the left, while 29% said it is carried out mostly by the right, and 24% said both sides are equally to blame ^[2]. Right-wing terrorists have accounted for 11% of murders in terrorist attacks on US soil since 1975, while left-wing terrorists have accounted for about 2% of the total ^[3]. However, when excluding the 9/11 attacks, right-wing terrorists account for 63% of murders, and left-wing terrorists account for 10% ^[3]. Additionally, research has found that radical acts perpetrated by individuals associated with left-wing causes are less likely to be violent ^[4].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

A key omitted fact is that most Americans say violence to achieve political goals is never justified, with 72% of respondents holding this view ^[1]. Another important context is that Americans express roughly equal levels of concern about left-wing and right-wing extremism and violence, with 61% of respondents saying they are very or somewhat concerned about left-wing extremism and 59% saying the same about right-wing extremism ^[2]. Furthermore, a majority of Republicans say the left is responsible for most political violence, while most Democrats say the right is largely at fault ^[2]. It is also worth noting that liberals are more likely than conservatives to defend feeling joy about the deaths of political opponents, with 16% of liberals saying this is usually or always acceptable, compared to 4% of conservatives ^[1]. However, even among liberals, the majority (56%) say it is unacceptable to feel joy about the deaths of political opponents ^[1].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement may be subject to partisan bias, as Americans are more likely to say political violence is a very big problem when someone from the opposing side is attacked ^[1]. Additionally, the framing of the question may benefit those who seek to polarize the debate, as it implies that one side is more violent than the other, when in fact the relationship between ideology and violence may be complex and context-dependent ^[4]. The sources also suggest that both Democrats and Republicans have been targeted by political violence, and that the current polarized political climate and the availability of guns contribute to the rise in violence ^[5]. Therefore, it is crucial to approach this topic with nuance and consider multiple viewpoints, rather than relying on simplistic or partisan narratives ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}.