Political "Conflict Entrepreneurs" Trade Policy Influence for Media Celebrity as Personal Attacks Triple on Social Media

PNAS Nexus study finds a subset of US legislators uses personal attacks to gain media celebrity, despite no gains in fundraising or electoral margins.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 17, 2026, 8:56 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from PNAS Nexus

The Rise of the Conflict Entrepreneur

Despite the public's stated desire for civility and substantive policy debate, a subset of American legislators is increasingly leaning into divisive rhetoric to define their careers. A new study published in PNAS Nexus utilized large language models to analyze 2.2 million statements from the 118th US Congress, categorizing chunks of text as personal attacks when they targeted an individual’s integrity or motivations rather than their official policy positions. The researchers identified a specific type of legislator they term "conflict entrepreneurs"—representatives who disproportionately utilize personal insults against their colleagues. This strategy, while highly visible, appears to be a departure from traditional political goals like lawmaking or constituent service.

Social Media as a Catalyst for Hostility

The medium of communication plays a critical role in the frequency of political vitriol. The study found that personal attacks are three times more common on social media platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter), than in other official sources like floor speeches, newsletters, or press releases. While the majority of legislators avoid frequent personal attacks, the digital landscape has created an environment where extreme outliers can thrive. Some of these "conflict entrepreneurs" were found to attack their opponents at more than ten times the overall mean of the Congress. This surge on social media suggests that the platforms' algorithms and immediate feedback loops may be incentivizing a shift away from formal legislative discourse.

Partisan Distribution of Divisive Rhetoric

In analyzing the demographic and partisan makeup of these outliers, the researchers found that Republican representatives are more likely to fall into the category of "conflict entrepreneurs" than their Democratic counterparts. However, the study emphasizes that this strategy is still only pursued by a small minority within both parties. Specifically, the data shows that while the rhetoric is polarized, the vast majority of the 118th Congress continues to focus on traditional communication methods that prioritize policy or official actions over personal character assassinations. The findings highlight that the most divisive voices, though loud and media-savvy, do not represent the standard behavior of the entire legislative body.