Introduction
Fear has become one of the most powerful currencies of our time. From headlines about youth crime and migration to viral clips of ‘chaos’ online, our sense of public safety is increasingly shaped by emotion, narrative, and visibility rather than by evidence.
Unpacking the Crisis traces how these dynamics evolve — from the media-driven moral panics of the 1970s to the algorithmic anxieties of today.
The first volume, Crime, Power, and the Politics of Fear, revisits classic theories of moral panic. The second, Digital Panics and the Networked Society, examines how fear now circulates in algorithmic spaces. Together, they provide a framework for practitioners, seeking to understand and respond proportionately to the politics of fear.
Each post includes a linked Practitioner Brief offering applied takeaways for professionals
VOLUME I — Unpacking the Crisis: Crime, Power, and the Politics of Fear
Theme:
How traditional media, policy, and social anxieties create cycles of moral panic and control.
# | Blog Title | Focus | Linked Practitioner Brief |
1 | Origins of moral panic in 1970s Britain and the power of framing. | ||
2 | How “folk devils” evolve across time — from street gangs to migrants. | ||
3 | How narratives around crime and safety are constructed and spread. | ||
4 | How fear-driven crises translate into long-term policy and policing. | Practitioner Brief 4 — Policy Response and Proportionality | |
5 | How institutions sustain legitimacy through crisis narratives. | Practitioner Brief 5 — Recognising the Politics of Fear | |
6 | Lived experience of being “policed through panic.” | Practitioner Brief 6 — Building Trust in Pressured Communities | |
7 | How to move toward justice grounded in equity and care. | Practitioner Brief 7 — Reframing Safety and Justice |
VOLUME II — Digital Panics: Fear, Facts, and the Networked Society
Theme:
How digital media reconfigures fear, moral panic, and institutional response.
# | Blog Title | Focus | Linked Practitioner Brief |
8 | Understanding Viral Fear — The Acceleration of Moral Panic Online | Bridging traditional and digital panics; how fear spreads online. | Practitioner Brief 8 — Recognising and Responding to Digital Panics |
9 | From Hashtag to Headline — How Social Media Manufactures Outrage | How online outrage cycles influence mainstream narratives. | Practitioner Brief 9 — Interpreting Digital Outrage |
10 | Digital Folk Devils — From Influencers to “Online Extremists” | New forms of scapegoating and belonging in digital subcultures. | Practitioner Brief 10 — Navigating Online Stigma and Radicalisation |
11 | Algorithmic Amplification — Why Fear Travels Faster Than Facts | How algorithms prioritise emotional content and crisis narratives. | Practitioner Brief 11 — Understanding Algorithmic Fear |
12 | Institutional Response — Managing Public Anxiety in a Hyperconnected Era | How institutions adapt (or overreact) to digital crises. | Practitioner Brief 12 — Strategic Communication and Public Confidence |
13 | Towards Digital Trust — Rebuilding Credibility and Calm | Building resilient, informed communities in a networked society. | — |
About the Author / Series Purpose
Written by Daniel Davis, researcher and commentator on social justice and policing.
This post maps the Unpacking the Crisis project — a two-volume series exploring how fear, media, and policy shape public life — designed to help professionals recognise and respond to the social construction of fear across policy, media, and digital spaces.
Start here → Unpacking The Crisis: Series Introduction
Then Continue To Part #1 → Remember Mugging? How a Word Changed a Nation