From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsensationalizesen‧sa‧tion‧al‧ize (also sensationalise British English) /senˈseɪʃənəlaɪz/ verb [transitive] SHOCKto deliberately make something seem as strange, exciting, or shocking as possible – used to show disapproval The media often sensationalizes crime.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
sensationalize• The story has been sensationalized for the sole purpose of selling newspapers. 