Social & News Media’s Effects on Law Enforcement

This investigation indicates that social and news media’s fake news threatens law enforcement officers. Law enforcement is experiencing escalations in resisting arrest, physical assaults, and murders by subjects targeting the police. These increases in criminal behaviors have law enforcement de-policing within the communities, and the catalysts are social and news media’s false reports that all police officers are racist. A content analysis was used to investigate the literature on social and news media’s effect on law enforcement and criminal behavior. The data focused on articles in peer-reviewed journals, published research articles, and social and news media reports. The results are societies perceptions are influenced by false statements (fake news) by social and news media outlets. Individuals who react to fake news use threats of violence, commit assault, or murder police officers. In return, law enforcement’s workplace environment becomes more dangerous causing de-policing as criminal behavior increases as well as more violence.

Keywords: Social media; Law enforcement; Fake news; Murders of police officers; Racism