{"id":2313,"date":"2022-02-20T14:06:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T14:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wickedness.net\/?page_id=2313"},"modified":"2022-07-26T01:50:23","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T01:50:23","slug":"fear-mongering","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wickedness.net\/wicked\/fear-mongering\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear Mongering"},"content":{"rendered":"
Fear mongering is used by politicians and marketers to “sell” you on some ideal by causing fear first and offering a solution second. <\/span><\/p>\n Over-reacting once in a while out of fear is completely normal for human beings. In a way, it\u2019s no less than a weakness and people have used it throughout history for their benefit. Politicians and media use fear to manipulate the masses by using sensitive topics such as crime, economy, culture, religion, language, and even family and children.<\/span><\/p>\n Manipulating people by invoking any of these fears is simply known as fear or scare-mongering. This article discusses everything you need to know about fear mongering. We\u2019ll also explain the consequences and effects of this phenomenon along with some techniques to detect when fear mongering is at play.<\/span><\/p>\n Definition:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Fear mongering refers to the practice of deliberately arousing public fear in public by discussing a particular issue. It\u2019s also called scare-mongering and it\u2019s about influencing other people to think in a certain way or to take a certain action by using fear.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, a political campaign using tactics of fear mongering to scare people in order to get more votes. Another good example of fear mongering is a tv commercial that scares the viewers from lightning strikes and tries to sell them the surge suppressors.<\/span><\/p>\n Undoubtedly lightning strikes are scary and violent and lightning strikes the ground millions of times a day. However, it\u2019s important to point out that dying from a lightning strike is very rare and in the US the chances of being killed by this phenomenon are about 10 million to 1.<\/span><\/p>\n But still, the truth is, our sense starts to get distorted after seeing such <\/span>television commercials<\/span><\/a> or listening to scary headlines. Resultantly, we start seeing threats when there are none.<\/span><\/p>\n Fear mongering is one of the most effective ways to move public opinion. Evolutionary psychology says that it\u2019s natural for humans to pay attention to danger. That\u2019s because danger is one of the most important aspects that kept humans alive throughout evolutionary history.<\/span><\/p>\n Cultural evolution has amplified this effect and now people crave news about danger and the news media provides it. There is now a competition of attention and social agents use all sorts of fearmongering tactics.<\/span><\/p>\n Mean World Syndrome<\/span><\/a> is a common effect of fearmongering where people see the world as a more dangerous place than it actually is. Politicians use it all the time to get more support from people. For example, warning people about the risk of terrorist attacks and talking about the pandemic have increased the support for the world leaders in recent years in many countries.<\/span><\/p>\n Fearing persistently can also affect your health and it includes decreased fertility, stomach problems, depression, heart problems, and even early death. Additionally, you can also suffer from a decreased ability to think and act. Some scared people can\u2019t even think of during an intense situation like freezing up if some animal gets caught in the vehicle\u2019s headlights.<\/span><\/p>\n Because of its effectiveness, scare-mongering has increased dramatically in television commercials. While some people boycott the entire organization if it uses scare tactics, others don\u2019t react negatively and end up buying the product out of fear.<\/span><\/p>\n The 2003 Iraq war is a great example of fearmongering in the media. Howard Kurtz, a former \u201cWashington Post” writer and an active American journalist says that in the early 2000s there were over 140 front-page stories that mainly focused on scary words against Iraq. These stories minimized or buried all the pieces that questioned the rationale or evidence for the Iraq war in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is Fear Mongering?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Effects of Fear Mongering<\/b><\/h2>\n
Fear Mongering in Media<\/b><\/h2>\n