Frank Furedi sets out to do two things in this book. First, he analyses the media circus that ensued after the 2012 airing of a BBC Newsnight report on allegations of sexual abuses committed by the entertainer Jimmy Savile; it presented, among other things, false allegations against Lord McAlpine, and in its wake came the resignation of BBC director-general George Entwistle and widespread journalistic licence that prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to warn against witch-hunts. Second, he examines how such scandals point to the desire for moral surety and moral crusade in a time of deep social disconnection.
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