The next media-fueled moral technology panic? News media’s and audience’s views on ChatGPT

With the diffusion of new technologies, “moral panics” often tend to emerge, with news outlets frequently seen as catalysts. However, empirical evidence on their specific role still remains scarce. The rise of ChatGPT offers a unique chance to observe a new form of moral technology panic in real time. Using a longitudinal survey of a Dutch quota sample and computational content analysis of Dutch news coverage on ChatGPT, we examined whether both news attention and public perceptions of ChatGPT’s societal impact increased and became more negative over time. We linked survey-based exposure measures with automated content-analysis-based news characteristics to assess the news media’s role in moral panic creation. While the public quickly became aware of ChatGPT, we found no clear indication of a moral panic in the news or among respondents. Moreover, news exposure ultimately did not influence perceptions of ChatGPT’s societal impact. We discuss implications for moral panic theories.