moral panics
Society-wide fear spirals
Moral panics are episodes of widespread alarm over perceived threats to social values or order, typically amplified by media coverage and often disproportionate to any actual danger.
The term usually implies that the fear is exaggerated or misplaced: The satanic panic of the 1980s led to baseless accusations, Video games became the subject of moral panics after school shootings.
Moral panics tend to target youth culture, minorities, or new technologies, and often fade once the supposed threat proves less dire than claimed.
Deliberately spreading exaggerated threats
- mass hysteriaShared irrational public fear
- witch-huntPersecution of supposed subversives
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- paranoiaIrrational persecution fears
overreaction · frenzy · irrationality · groupthink · mob mentality · contagion · anxiety · delusion
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- red scareMass anti-communist hysteria
- Salem witch trialsColonial American persecution of alleged sorcerers
- Reefer MadnessNotorious anti-marijuana propaganda film
- stranger dangerCaution toward unknown individuals
Overhyped news coverage
- yellow journalismReporting prioritizing shock value
- tabloidsSensational gossip newspapers
- clickbaitSensationalized content for traffic
- media frenzyIntense journalistic attention surge
shock value · echo chamber · misinformation · rumormongering · infotainment · spin doctoring · agenda-setting · amplification
Casting as evil
- vilificationAbusive condemnation of someone
- stigmatizationMarking as disgraceful
- otheringViewing as fundamentally different
- stereotypingOversimplified group-based judgments
dehumanization · blame · marginalization · targeting · outsiders · deviance · labeling · persecution
Mechanisms ensuring societal conformity
- status quoExisting condition of affairs
- conformityAdherence to norms
- social orderStructured arrangement of community
- hegemonyDominant group's control
fearmongering
Deliberately spreading exaggerated threats
- mass hysteriaShared irrational public fear
- witch-huntPersecution of supposed subversives
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
paranoia · overreaction · frenzy · irrationality · groupthink · mob mentality · contagion · anxiety · delusion · collective fear
McCarthyism
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- red scareMass anti-communist hysteria
- Salem witch trialsColonial American persecution of alleged sorcerers
- Reefer MadnessNotorious anti-marijuana propaganda film
sensationalism
Overhyped news coverage
- yellow journalismReporting prioritizing shock value
- tabloidsSensational gossip newspapers
- clickbaitSensationalized content for traffic
media frenzy · shock value · echo chamber · misinformation · rumormongering · infotainment · spin doctoring · agenda-setting · amplification · news cycle
demonization
Casting as evil
- vilificationAbusive condemnation of someone
- stigmatizationMarking as disgraceful
- otheringViewing as fundamentally different
stereotyping · dehumanization · blame · marginalization · targeting · outsiders · deviance · labeling · persecution · outcasts
social control
Mechanisms ensuring societal conformity
- status quoExisting condition of affairs
- conformityAdherence to norms
- social orderStructured arrangement of community
hegemony · anomie · societal values · discourse · power structures
- political tacticscampaigning, gerrymandering, filibuster, campaigns, voter suppression
- criminologycrime, criminology, criminal behavior, criminologist, criminalization
moral, morality, morals, panics, morally, immorality, moralizing, demoralize, demoralized