AN ACADEMIC from Bournemouth University has accused campaigners and the media of “whipping up a moral panic” over the TV drama 13 Reasons Why.

The series, produced for the video-on-demand service Netflix, is about an American high school student who leaves a box of cassette tapes recording her reasons for committing suicide.

Some psychologists and educators have criticised the series over fears that it could prompt copycat suicide attempts, and over its depiction of mental health workers.

But Bournemouth University (BU) journalism lecturer William Proctor heads a list of academics who have written an open letter decrying the criticism of the show. Dr Proctor’s 21 cosignatories include BU journalism and communications lecturer Anne Luce.

The letter claims “journalists, mental health campaigners and psychologists are whipping up a moral panic" about the series.

It says: “Many UK presses are giving prime space to certain kinds of voices, many of which are scapegoating the series as ‘dangerous,’ ‘harmful’, ‘romanticised’ and ‘sensationalist’. Oddly, many critics accuse Netflix of operating outside of Ofcom’s broadcasting code and the journalist code of ethics, but these are extant guidelines for reporting and broadcasting, not for fictional representations.”

The authors raise doubts about the methodology behind theories that fictional stories can encourage vulnerable young people to take their own lives.

And they argue that in the field of psychology, “there is little empirical evidence that demonstrates that fictional representations directly lead to copy-cat behaviour”.

The letter adds: “Readers will no doubt be aware that these kinds of arguments have considerable vintage, going back at least to the 1800s.

“13 Reasons Why has opened up a channel of communication about sensitive and difficult topics. We do need to talk about suicide, and mental health more generally, but the grounds on which this is currently unfolding are the most irresponsible and ‘sensationalised’ of all.

"We plead with journalists, mental health campaigners, practitioners, psychologists and so forth, to cease scapegoating 13 Reasons Why and begin discussing these important issues in a careful and reasonable manner.”

Critics of the show have included the Samaritans, which said: “It is extremely concerning that a drama series, aimed at a young audience, can be produced outside of the UK and made available to UK audiences and yet not subject to UK media regulation.”