Learn English – Term for something that is supposed to increase safety, but really just increases fear

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Some examples:

  • A news station giving daily "terrorist reports". It doesn't actually say how to protect yourself, just gives information on how horrible they are & why you should be afraid.
  • A airport that forces full body searches. The odds of an attack are still about zero, but passengers will believe there is a huge problem because of the extreme security measures.
  • A person never leaving the house without at least 2 firearms. Their fear of an attack is increased by buying & carrying guns, but the chances of them needing to use one is still very low.

Best Answer

The general term I hear most often for this is security theater. From Wikipedia:

Security theater is the practice of investing in countermeasures intended to provide the feeling of improved security while doing little or nothing to actually achieve it.

This doesn't necessarily come with the increase in fear, but it's often associated.

An example for both issues [cost and fear] is that after a recent increase in restrictions in air travel, many frequent air travelers have expressed that they will try to avoid flying in the future. Security theater encourages people to make uninformed, counterproductive political decisions.

Of course, it's controversial exactly which measures are considered "theater" in most cases.