Moral Panics and Copaganda: How Data is Manipulated
2025-05-15
This article exposes how moral panics are used to inflate law enforcement budgets and intensify punitive measures. Using California's shoplifting crisis as an example, it shows how media-fueled panic led to massive funding increases for law enforcement, while ignoring root social causes. The author points out how selective reporting of anecdotes and isolated data points distorts public perception of crime, creating a false sense of crisis even when crime rates are declining. This 'copaganda' tactic uses truthful elements to manipulate the narrative, resulting in misallocation of resources and the perpetuation of social problems.