Lefty do-gooders of the world unite

Two weeks. That’s how long I lasted in a secondary school parents’ WhatsApp group. Not because of the emojis. Not because of the endless chatter about lost PE kits.

Because of the misinformation.

Within a fortnight I’d been called a “lefty do-gooder.” A badge I’ll wear with pride; I’m almost tempted to update my title on LinkedIn. Since when was trying to do good a bad thing btw?

The Mods and Rockers of 2025

I studied Sociology at university. It’s not something I think about often, but one idea we studied always stuck with me: folk devils and moral panics.

Stanley Cohen wrote about them in the 1970s. The Mods and Rockers on Brighton beach. The media turning a scuffle into a “threat to society.” Ordinary kids into folk devils. A frenzy into a moral panic.

Is this starting to sound familiar?

We’re living it again. But this time it’s supercharged by algorithms. WhatsApp forwards. Facebook shares. GB News panels. Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage, rebranding old prejudice as fresh panic.

The script hasn’t changed. Just the stage.

See through the sociology lens, not the tabloid lens

The tabloid lens wants you to react. Click. Share. Rage.

The sociology lens wants you to pause. Step back. Ask better questions. Critical thinking.

When you see a headline or hear a rumour, the reflex is: “Is this true?”

But that’s the wrong question. Because misinformation doesn’t care about truth. It cares about attention.

The better question is: “Who benefits from this panic?”

• When you’re told immigrants are “flooding schools” — who gains from you feeling fear?
• When there’s a new “threat to free speech” — who profits from that outrage?
• When someone points at a supposed folk devil — who cashes in on the moral panic?

Truth is, moral panics are always someone’s business model. Politicians use them to win votes. Media outlets use them to sell ads. Grifters use them to build followings.

Once you put on that sociology lens, the panic stops being scary and starts being obvious. You see patterns, not threats. You see players, not victims.

That’s the power of reframing.

Instead of drowning in the question “is this true?”, you surface with the clarity of “ah, I see who’s pulling the strings.”

And once you see the strings, you’re free to step out of the puppet show.

We don’t just live in an “age of misinformation.”

We live in an age of weaponised moral panics.

The oldest trick in the sociology book.

Just reskinned for WhatsApp.

The hack?

See the panic. Name it. Step outside the script.