Moral panics are built on the disproportional fear of a group of people, things, or behaviours that are falsely perceived to threaten values and norms of society. This irrational fear is fuelled by disinformation and far-reaching narratives that seek to spread panic and call for the hostile and imminent rejection of said “folk devil.” In the 2020s, a sudden drag panic has been spreading worldwide, driven by conservative activists and targeting Drag Story Hour events. By adopting anti-gay narratives and pervasive rhetorics of the past, today’s drag panic demonises LGBTQ people and calls for censorship and the banning of drag performances. This review article provides a wide overview of the art of modern drag, origins of drag panic, and its harmful ramifications. This text was originally written for the 2024 course on Media Criticism and Society as part of the Dark Play -project (“Synkkä leikki”) in the Digital Culture, Cultural Heritage and Landscape program at the University of Turku, and was revisited and last modified in the summer of 2025.