Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? How Media Misinformation Manipulates Mistrust

Misinformation about crime, especially violent crime, significantly impacts public perceptions of safety. This is largely driven by sensationalist media reporting that distorts the extent of crime to attract attention. Public agencies, including law enforcement and governmental bodies, play a crucial role in either perpetuating or mitigating this misinformation. However, the failure of these agencies to often actively challenge misinformation allows false narratives to persist and exacerbate fear within the public. This essay explores the role of the media and public agencies in spreading and failing to challenge misinformation, with a focus on the consequences of inaction. It also looks at how proactive measures by agencies could reduce public fear and inform better policymaking. A case study of misinformation in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential campaigns of Donald Trump highlights how misinformation spreads and the lessons that can be applied to crime reporting.