moral panic

Conspiracy theories tagged "moral panic."

6 articles

Satanic Panic — 1980s Daycare Hysteria
Debunked

Satanic Panic — 1980s Daycare Hysteria

The 1980s moral panic when hundreds of daycare workers were falsely accused of Satanic ritual abuse based on coerced child testimony.

1980 · United States
Debunked

Satanic Ritual Abuse Underground Network Theory

The theory that an organized Satanic underground spanning law enforcement, government, and medicine was ritually abusing children — investigated by the FBI's Ken Lanning who found no credible evidence.

1980 · United States
Mixed

The Blue Whale Challenge

How a dubious Russian newspaper article about a suicide 'game' on VKontakte created a worldwide moral panic — and how media coverage of the hoax may have caused the very harm it warned about.

2016 · Russia
Dungeons & Dragons / Gaming Satanism Conspiracy
Debunked

Dungeons & Dragons / Gaming Satanism Conspiracy

In the 1980s, parents, pastors, and politicians were convinced Dungeons & Dragons was a gateway to Satan worship. The moral panic, the suicides, the Jack Chick tracts, and the legacy.

1979 · United States
The Momo Challenge
Debunked

The Momo Challenge

How a Japanese art sculpture became the face of a global moral panic — and why the Momo Challenge was almost entirely fabricated by the media that covered it.

2018 · Argentina
Debunked

Slender Man: From Creepypasta to Conspiracy

The story of how a Photoshop contest entry on Something Awful became a global phenomenon, inspired a real stabbing, and spawned conspiracy theories about internet mind control.

2009 · United States