Moral Panic
A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society.[1][2][3]
It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue",[4] usually perpetuated by moral entrepreneurs and mass media coverage, and exacerbated by politicians and lawmakers.[1][4]
Moral panic can give rise to new laws aimed at controlling the community. ^[5]
Stanley Cohen, who developed the term, states that moral panic happens when "a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests".[6]
While the issues identified may be real, the claims "exaggerate the seriousness, extent, typicality and/or inevitability of harm".[7]
Moral panics are now studied in sociology and criminology, media studies, and cultural studies.[2][8]
Examples of moral panic include the belief in widespread abduction of children by predatory pedophiles;[9][10][11] belief in ritual abuse of women and children by Satanic cults;[12] and concerns over the effects of music lyrics.[13]
Some moral panics can become embedded in standard political discourse,[2] which include concepts such as the "Red Scare"[14] and terrorism.[15]
It differs from mass hysteria, which is closer to a psychological illness rather than a sociological phenomenon.[16]