[2][3][4][5] The phenomenon has been linked to a variety of factors, including stereotypes about different groups of people, familiarity with the deceased, and several psychological theories, such as collapse of compassion, psychic numbing, and disaster fatigue.
[6] British media commentator Roy Greenslade has been credited with coining the term while writing on the newsworthiness of those who died during the Troubles.
Greenslade also critiqued the phenomenon in media reactions to the Boston Marathon bombings.
[7][8] NPR discussed the disparity in media coverage between the 2015 Beirut bombings and the November 2015 Paris attacks, which happened within a day of each other.
[8][11] The hierarchy of death has been compared to missing white woman syndrome.