It happens every year like clockwork. First, law enforcement officials warn parents to examine their children’s Halloween candy for drugs. Then media outlets at every level pick up the story. From Fox News to Hawaii News Now, countless platforms have shared the claim that drug-laced candy will be given to children, needlessly terrifying people all across the United States. “Needlessly,” that is, because there is no evidence to support the idea that people are handing out contaminated candy...

When Alice’s phone started buzzing, she didn’t know what to think. Some of her friends were texting her to say that her Instagram account had been hacked. They must have been wrong, though, because she had just gotten a DM from her cousin saying someone was impersonating her. Opening the message, she discovered a new account with her name, profile picture, and posts. The bio talked about “18+ content,” and there was a link to what looked like a pornographic website, with her name and photo at...