Deviancy amplification spiral (also simply called deviance amplification) is a media hype phenomenon defined by media critics as an increasing cycle of reporting on a category of antisocial behavior or other "undesirable" events. Reported cases of such "deviance" are often presented as just "the ones we know about" or "the tip of the iceberg," an assertion that is nearly impossible to disprove immediately. For a variety of reasons, what is not frightening and would help the public keep a rational perspective (such as statistics showing that the behavior or event is actually less common or harmful than generally believed) tends to be ignored. Retrieved from Wikipedia from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviancy_amplification_spiral |
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