Editing Moral panic (section)

==Mass media==
The concept of "moral panic" has also been linked to certain assumptions about the [[mass media]].{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}} In recent times, the mass media have become important players in the dissemination of moral indignation, even when they do not appear to be consciously engaged in [[sensationalism]] or in [[Muckraker|muckraking]]. Simply reporting a subset of factual statements without contextual nuance can be enough to generate concern, anxiety, or panic.{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}}

Cohen stated that the mass media is the primary source of the public's knowledge about deviance and social problems. He further argued that moral panic gives rise to the folk devil by labelling actions and people.{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}} [[Christian Joppke]] furthers the importance of media as he notes shifts in public attention "can trigger the decline of movements and fuel the rise of others."<ref name="Ramet-2013">{{Cite journal |last1=Ramet |first1=Sabrina P. |last2=Hassenstab |first2=Christine M. |title=The Know Nothing Party: Three Theories about its Rise and Demise |journal=Politics and Religion |date=September 2013 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=570–595 |doi=10.1017/S1755048312000739 |s2cid=144872631 }}</ref>

According to Cohen, the media appear in any or all three roles in moral panic dramas:{{sfn|Cohen|2011|p={{page needed|date=August 2022}}}}

* Setting the agenda{{snd}}selecting deviant or socially problematic events deemed as newsworthy, then using finer filters to select which events are candidates for moral panic.
* Transmitting the images{{snd}}transmitting the claims by using the rhetoric of moral panics.
* Breaking the silence and making the claim.