There is an excellent podcast, You're Wrong About, which goes into the disparity between things we fear and what actually happens. Similar and relevant topics they cover:
- Satanic Panic - Human Trafficking - Murder - Stanford Prison Experiment
etc.
A very common theme is "do-gooders" trying to do what they very naively think is a good thing but without data or rationality to back it up. Or, worse, people who manipulate those do-gooders into accomplishing other, more selfish/nefarious/evil goals.
Really interesting stuff overall.