Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said Sunday that amid efforts to foster bipartisan discourse, the internet “is driving extremism in our country,” saying slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk “should not have paid with his life for the opportunity to speak out.”
The assassination has spurred calls for lowering the political temperature nationwide, along with efforts to improve bipartisan dialogue in Washington.
Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, appeared alongside Coons on Sunday as the two men made an appeal to bipartisanship amid the divisive political climate.
Lankford echoed Coons’ concerns about the internet and extremism to CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, saying calls for bipartisanship can be drowned out because “the algorithm pushes people to the most extreme.”
And while he called the internet “an accelerant” and a reinforcing factor, he said it’s “not the root cause.”
Sen. Delaware Democrat Chris Coons stated on Sunday that the internet “is driving extremism in our country,” despite efforts to promote bipartisan discourse. He claimed that Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who was killed, “should not have paid with his life for the opportunity to speak out.”. “.”.
Coons stated on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that “the idea that he would be killed in such a grotesque and public way has to bring all of us to reflect about how hard it’s getting, because the internet is an accelerant,” regardless of how much he disagreed with his political views. “,”.
Kirk was shot and killed last week in what authorities called a “targeted attack” at Utah Valley University. Along with initiatives to enhance bipartisan communication in Washington, the assassination has sparked calls for lowering the political temperature nationwide.
Sen. Coons and James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, appeared together on Sunday and urged bipartisanship in the face of the polarizing political environment. Major Garrett, the chief Washington correspondent for CBS News, heard Lankford echo Coons’ worries about the internet and extremism. He claimed that because “the algorithm pushes people to the most extreme,” calls for bipartisanship can be lost in the shuffle. “..”.
The phrase “who’s the loudest, who’s the craziest, who’s the angriest — that’s what gets repeated over and over again,” Lankford said, referring to social media. “That gets pushed aside in favor of someone who is merely irate and focused whenever there is a coherent discussion or a topic on which people may disagree but are having a polite conversation. “,”.
Leaders from both parties have a chance to unite “in urging folks to set aside any thought of political violence and to respect each other, even as we keep advancing our political differences through discourse,” according to Coons, amid the factors that cause political division. “..”.
The Kids Online Safety Act is one congressional initiative aimed at shielding kids from harmful internet content, as the two senators mentioned. The measure is widely supported by both parties, according to Coons, who stated that it should be passed “to help reduce some of the risks and harms to our families and our country from the internet.”. “.
“We are seeing people radicalize online,” Lankford said, describing the bill as “a great piece of legislation to be able to protect our kids.”. He added that teachers in Oklahoma have praised a cell phone ban in schools for fostering a “dramatically different” atmosphere.
“People are interacting, looking up, and talking again,” Lankford stated. Their eyes aren’t just fixed on their phone. They aren’t constantly exposed to this hate speech. Simply by looking each other in the face and saying, “Let’s see if we can work this out,” it alters the tone of the entire situation. “”.
Commentary follows Utah Gov. According to Spencer Cox, social media is a “cancer on our society” following Kirk’s murder last week. People should “log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community,” Cox urged. “.
Social media has “played a direct role in every single assassination and assassination attempt that we have seen over the last five, six years,” Cox added on Sunday during NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “,”.
“I don’t doubt that the word “cancer” is a powerful enough one,” Cox stated.
University of Chicago political science professor Robert Pape, who also made an appearance on “Face the Nation” Sunday, claimed that the country is at a “watershed moment,” with violent populism “right in its grip.”. Although he referred to the internet as “an accelerant” and a reinforcing factor, he denied that it was the primary cause. “.”.
When Pape said, “It’s like throwing gasoline on the fire, but the internet is not the fire itself,”. Something that is occurring is seriously radicalizing our political system. “.”.
In praising Lankford and Coons’ appearance on Sunday to denounce violence, Pape, one of the nation’s leading experts on political violence, stated that “the number one thing we have to do is we need our political leaders to step up.”.
According to Pape, “that’s important,” and “we need to step that up.”. “.”.
