President Donald Trump has once again ignited the debate on polarization in the United States. In an interview with CBS, the president stated that political violence is not a new phenomenon, recalling historical assassinations in the country. However, he warned that the hate speech of Democrats represents a greater danger than in the past for the nation.
Data analysis: technology measures historical violence 📊
Data analysis tools such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) allow tracking political discourse on social media and news outlets since 2008. A study from the University of Chicago shows that violent rhetoric has increased by 40% on digital platforms since 2016. Algorithms classify terms like eliminate or enemy in public statements. Although assassinations have decreased since the 1970s, the intensity of hostile language is now more measurable and viral.
The app that alerts you if your favorite politician hates you 📱
While Trump points at Democrats for their rhetoric, one imagines a futuristic application that analyzes every speech and shows a traffic light: green if it talks about taxes, red if it mentions internal enemies. Of course, the app would saturate in seconds and display an error message: Too much hate to process. Meanwhile, politicians keep blaming each other and citizens look at their phones wondering who the real danger is.