moral panic
A moral panic is a social ritual where virtuous citizens compete to broadcast their fears under the pretense of defending public morality. Once someone is labeled a heretic, the accusation becomes an amplifier, mutating into a contagion that drags innocent bystanders under suspicion. This collective fear has evolved into a form of entertainment, performed daily in the circus known as the news cycle. What survives is the self-satisfaction of the would-be defenders of justice and a growing mountain of unresolved problems.