A stew of hypertoxic rhetoric has surged through social media and American discourse after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk , inflaming a political environment that was already deeply polarized.

The most concerning messages, experts told NBC News, are proclamations from far-right activists, Republican politicians and conservative influencers about a coming civil war and the need for retribution or payback against the left for Kirk’s killing. The phrase “civil war” has spiked on social media and in Google searches .

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“The Left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk posted on X to his 226 million followers, shortly after the shooting and before the gunman’s identity was known. He separately posted

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