Media panic

Amplification: social networking platforms can amplify media panic by enabling misinformation to spread rapidly and creating algorithmic echo chambers which form feedback loops of anxiety and uncertainty.

Media panic has a long history, going back even as far as Ancient Greece with Socrates condemning the written word: “if men learn this they implant forgetfulness into their souls”.

[3] The ‘panic cycle’ consists of four main stages:[8] 450 BCE: Socrates/Plato 1400s: Printing press 1700s: Popularisation of novel reading 1880/90s: Penny dreadfuls 1930: Radio 1950: Comic book censorship 1960: Television 1970/80: Video nasties 1990/2000s: Violent video games 2000-present: internet, smartphones, social networks In the 1950s Psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham made largely unfounded claims that so-called “crime comics” indoctrinated children into a life of violence and delinquency.

In his book "Seduction of the Innocent" he linked these American comics to juvenile crime, as well as the promotion of homosexual lifestyles (Batman and Robin) and unfeminine activities (Wonder Woman).

This media panic had substantial and long-lasting impacts including the formation of the Comics Code Authority which drastically limited the type of content that could be published.

The Daily Mail started a campaign of front-page headlines: “Ban video sadism now”, described the “Rape of our children's minds”, and in a story headed “‘Taken over’ by something evil from the TV set”, suggested that a boy had been possessed by one such film.

Media outlets and social networking sites must be held accountable for the information they are publishing by regulatory bodies to ensure balanced and well-founded coverage.