With No Info Whatsoever, Fox News Host Randomly Speculates That Video Games Caused El Paso Shooting
Studies show no connection between games and real-world aggression.
Moral Panic
'Killer' Walkman, 'Insane' Bicycles, and Novels Will Rot Your Brain: Pessimist Archive's Jason Feifer on 'Why We Resist New Things'
Jason Feifer's podcast explores "why we resist new things" and tells great stories about panics over the novel, the elevator, the waltz, margarine, and more.
That Story About Kids Growing Horns Because of Smartphones Is Fake News
Researchers made no effort to link the two.
Cop Arrests Mom for Letting Kids Wait in Car During 10-Minute Errand
A Pennsylvania mom faces reckless endangerment charges for assuming her children—ages 2, 5, and 7—could survive a very short wait.
Stossel: Moral Panic Over Sex Work
Police often accuse people of "sex trafficking." Usually, it’s simply prostitution.
We Don't Need the Federal Government To Save Kids From Video Game 'Loot Boxes'
Senator proposes telling publishers what virtual products they can and cannot sell to children.
Prince Harry Blames Fortnite Addiction, Social Media for the World's Ills
Maybe people are just playing to escape all the Brexit news?
Kellyanne Conway Pushes Debunked Myth About Fentanyl-Laced Weed
And no, teens aren't popping random pills at "Skittles parties" either.
Knock It Off, Lazy News Outlets. 'Momo' Isn't Telling Kids To Hurt Themselves.
When absurd ghost stories are passed off as actual journalism
Stop Letting People Lie to You About Hate Crime and Human Trafficking Spikes
Government statistics often show more reports of both. That doesn't mean either is on the rise.
Pennsylvania Lawmaker Calls for Thoroughly Unconstitutional Tax on 'Violent' Video Games
It's not about school safety-it's about the money.
Sex-Trafficking Hysteria Is Eroding Privacy in Hotels, Airplanes, and More: Podcast
Elizabeth Nolan Brown talks about DHS's "Blue Campaign," which is pushing hotel and airline workers to call the feds if they suspect human trafficking.
Cops Say Cindy McCain Didn't Catch Toddler Trafficker at Airport
Plus: Lionel Shriver on cultural erasure and Stormy Daniels on strip-club labor laws
Are You a Woman Traveling Alone? Marriott Might Be Watching You.
How big hotel chains became arms of the surveillance state.
Congress Ramps Up War on Sex Workers and Their Customers With Secret Votes on Four New 'Protection' Laws
A national strategy for arresting sex buyers and letting local cops wiretap sex workers are among the approved changes.
Police Thought Dad Leaving the Mall With His Daughter Was a Kidnapper
"Society is all too ready to interpret the most innocent of gestures as a prelude to abusing a child."
Anti-Porn Republicans Haven't Gone Anywhere
The porn wars haven't died, they're just packaged differently.
Libertarian Halloween Tips: Reason Roundup
Plus: Halloween Netflix recommendations and a glimpse of Trump trick-or-treating.
The 1986 Plastic Gun Panic
How the gun control lobbies nearly tricked Congress into banning millions of ordinary guns.
Local News Uncritically Publicizes Mother's Kidnapping Freakout
A mom says her daughter was almost abducted at a rest stop. That's a stretch.
There's 'No Evidence That Having Sex With Robots Is Healthy' and No Evidence That It's Not
There's just no evidence about sex robots period, because at present they don't really exist. But that hasn't stopped folks from freaking out...
Eighteen Is Old Enough for War But Not Sexting, Say Ohio Lawmakers
The House Criminal Justice Committee just voted unanimously in favor of a bill to ban sexting by anyone under age 19.
When the Censors Came for Jack Johnson's Fight Films
Friday A/V Club: The boxer who just got a posthumous presidential pardon was a central figure in one of the first battles over movie censorship.
Pardon Jack Johnson
The White Slavery Panic of the late 19th/early 20th centuries caused Congress to pass the vaguely-worded Mann Act. It allowed the FBI and prosecutors broad discretion to go after individuals they didn't like.
Relax—You'll Probably Survive Until Tomorrow
Americans have a poor sense of risk, and media panics don't help.
Before People Fretted About Fake Videos, People Fretted About Fake Photographs
Do deepfakes really represent "the collapse of reality"?
Why You Shouldn't Want Congress To Regulate Facebook & Other Social Media
We need to up our media literacy game, not delegate responsibility to politicians who have no idea what they're doing.
Teens Snorting Condoms Is the Best Thing on YouTube Right Now
The world is full of wonders.
Dentist Threatens to Report Parents for Neglect Unless They Bring in Their Kids (and Wallets)
Mandatory abuse reporting requirements lead to a novel marketing scheme.
Trump Wants to Meet with Video Game Industry Leaders to Complain About Gun Violence That's Not Their Fault
No, Call of Duty is not making kids shoot up schools.
New York Legislators Unveil Legislation Banning Tide Pods
The next stage of the safety hysteria cycle
The Best Sex Work Writing of 2017
We rounded up the year's best writing, reporting, and research on erotic industries, those who work in them, and how they're getting screwed by U.S. authorities and laws.
The Year in Teen Sexting Panic
From cops to Congress, overreactions to teen sexting have reached new heights in 2017.
Feds Keeping Homeland Secure with Fake Sex-Trafficking Busts
As America deals with terrorist attacks and mass shootings, DHS and the FBI are busy enforcing misdemeanor vice laws.
Halloween (and Everything Else) Is Too Scary for the Fragile Generation
Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed.
Feds 'Rescue' Women from Freedom and Money in 11th 'Operation Cross Country'
Hear from the real victims of this cruel FBI charade.
Ohio Republicans Move to Ban Sexting Between Teens
The bill is being pitched as a way to help teens avoid harsh child-porn laws.
Move Over, Millennial 'Narcissists,' There's a New Generation for the Olds to Get Wrong
Techno-panic finds a new target in Jean Twenge's "Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?"
No, the Solar Eclipse Will Not Cause a Spike in Sex Trafficking
Like all things 2017, an old urban legend takes an even more ridiculous turn.
Lawmakers Demand Sessions Investigate Backpage's 'Criminal Role in Sex Trafficking' in Wake of Misleading Washington Post Article
Post says Backpage hired a contractor that catfished on foreign competitors' sites.
Want to Look at Online Porn? The U.K. Gov't Wants to Strip You of Your Privacy
You must submit your credit card number-for the safety of the children!
Airport Scrutiny to Get Worse as House Moves to Mandate Sex-Trafficking Training
FAA reauthorization bill would require airline ticket-counter and gate agents to be trained on reporting "potential human trafficking victims."
