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« More on ACLU Nevada and Heller | Main | Disney firing security guard: the legal end of things »

Interesting article on popular panics, media, and laws

Posted by David Hardy · 12 July 2008 07:25 PM

Right here. It focuses upon media driven panics, with little or no basis in fact (e.g., a "study" that indicated 80% of internet images are porn, and a claim that 50,000 sexual predators are online at any moment), that led to federal legislation, specifically anti-internet-porn laws and concern over MySpace being exploited by hordes of sexual predators. In each case, there was either no hard evidence, or in one case a largely invented study (which the author convinced a law review to publish without verifying his data) that led to media hype, perception of a crisis, and legislation.

The parallels with, oh, "assault weapons," "cop-killer bullets," "a gun in the home is more likely to kill you than a criminal," and other such issues are rather striking.

Brought back a memory of my late ex, who upon watching an episode of "60 Minutes" became utterly convinced that drug pushers were everywhere hanging out around school, and passing out free samples in order to get students addicted. It was on the TV -- it had to be accurate!

From Mike Masnick of Tech Dirt, who has this post on it, and to reader Sam Wilson....

[Update: wouldn't have been the Wild Bunch, which came out in the 60s, I think, and featured shotguns and a belt fed Browning. Great flick. But as I recall the movie fad in the late 50s was juvenile delinquency, and I'm sure there were a lot with switchblades.]

· media

5 Comments | Leave a comment

mike123 | July 13, 2008 6:22 AM | Reply

The environmental engineering world is filled with these examples. For example, the US is running out of landfills was from one study and it was a comment buried in a report. The guy who wrote it had all sorts of assumptions, the cheif of which companies weren't investing in new landfills and at the current rate, we will run out of landfills.

Global Warming .... er climate change is a great example was well

thirdpower | July 14, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply

Don't forget the the daycare child molesters, Satanists, and tainted Halloween candy scares from the 80's.

KCSteve | July 14, 2008 2:55 PM | Reply

One of my 'favorites' - the 1958 Switchblade Act, which killed a then-thriving US industry was based on a movie. I think it was The Wild Bunch but I'm not certain.

Jim D. | July 14, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply

One of my 'favorites' - the 1958 Switchblade Act, which killed a then-thriving US industry was based on a movie. I think it was The Wild Bunch but I'm not certain.

I think it was West Side Story.

Jerry in Detroit | July 16, 2008 5:43 AM | Reply

Let's call this for what it is. This is plain old "Yellow Journalism" from the 1800s. Never forget that the purpose of the media is to make money; Irregardless of who they slander or how they create whatever panic or scandal to do so.

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