Polarization, Hyperbole and the Battle for Control over the Narrative

Abstract

We investigate the causal connections between elite polarization, hyperbole in public discourse and narrative control. The victor of a narrative battle gains a strategic advantage in hyperbole, steering a contentious policy in its preferred direction. This gain, weighed against the information loss from hyperbole, determines the equilibrium narrative. Platform polarizations, which relate to elites’ messages, are induced by, and amplify, preference polarizations, which relate to their political orientations. IS polarizations, in which two opposing factions move further apart, intensify the narrative battle and decrease social welfare. These effects are reversed for IB polarizations, in which each faction becomes more homogeneous.