Media & Musk: Another Nazi Moral Panic

Media-invented moral panics are nothing new.

What sets apart the modern-day Nazi moral panic, however, is that it has achieved “evergreen” status. It can be easily dusted off and deployed on a whim, then packed away and stored until a later date. Unlike, say, the Dungeons & Dragons panic of the 1980s, the Nazi business has no natural shelf life. There is rarely an organic instigating event that precedes it. It disappears as quickly as it appears. Its only consistent trait is that it tends to be aimed exclusively at lawmakers and other prominent figures disfavored by the press.

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Becket Adams

Becket Adams is a columnist for National Review, the Washington Examiner, and The Hill.

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Media-invented moral panics are nothing new.

What sets apart the modern-day Nazi moral panic, however, is that it has achieved “evergreen” status. It can be easily dusted off and deployed on a whim, then packed away and stored until a later date. Unlike, say, the Dungeons & Dragons panic of the 1980s, the Nazi business has no natural shelf life. There is rarely an organic instigating event that precedes it. It disappears as quickly as it appears. Its only consistent trait is that it tends to be aimed exclusively at lawmakers and other prominent figures disfavored by the press.