What They Found

Democrats think 47 percent of Republicans support violence against Democrats. But only 13 percent really do. Even more striking: only 3.5% of Democrats and 2.4% of Republicans support throwing rocks at opposing protestors, yet 40% from both parties think the other side would support this - a ten-fold exaggeration. Social media makes this worse by amplifying extreme voices. Meanwhile, 85% of Republicans and 89% of Democrats believe in unconditional free speech, but each side thinks only about half the other party believes this. This creates dangerous cycles where people respond to imaginary threats.

RePublic positions itself as a new local news platform where residents can publish local updates, surface community needs, and engage with civic tools such as representative lookups and action listings. The platform emphasizes transparency, accountability, and participation at the city and town level across the United States.

• • Hyper-local focus — enter your state and town to view nearby items.

• • Inform, organize, act tooling aimed at civic engagement and local accountability.

• • Citizen-funded model; positioned as ad-free local media.

Relational Tech Project nurtures a builder community focused on people-centered, “village-scale” technology. Work spans storytelling, resources, and a forum for practitioners building tools that prioritize human relationships. See the project home and writing archive for the latest essays and updates.