this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2025
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Typical pattern: "Scientists find something strange when they look at a common whatever - and it's not good!"

This kind of crap used to be the style of little blurbs at the side or the bottom of an article, but it's in the headlines now. Until you click the headline you don't even really know what the article is about anymore - just the general topic area, with maybe a fear trigger.

Clicking on the headline is going to display ads, but at that point the goal isn't to get you to buy anything yet, it's just to generate ad impressions, which the content provider gets paid for regardless of whether you even see the ads. It's a weird meta-revenue created by the delivery mechanism, and it has altered the substance of headlines, and our expectations of what "headline" even means.

(page 2) 31 comments
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Predominantly? Seems to be 100% and many times they are contradicted by the article. At this point I assume a fear headline is overblown bullshit. Also health headlines are always the same crap repeated over and over.

which the content provider gets paid for regardless of whether you even see the ads.

I don't understand why businesses waste their money on buying these garbage ads. Pissing away their ad dollars.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 1 week ago

Yes, but this has been the case for many years now.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I despise it. It's everywhere.

It's even like that in our public service media in my country, which is tax-funded and does not need to generate clicks at all. There are no ads embedded in their articles or anything. They have no reason at all to bait.

Yet they do. It's like it's getting taught at journalism school or wherever the fuck they go before starting their career in baiting.

Master baiters are what they are. Absolute masters.

[–] jecxjo@midwest.social 2 points 1 week ago

omg do i hate that. especial those commentators who want to claim something was politically devastating when we all know no one gave a shit.

[–] OpenStars@discuss.online 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

No, it is only you who are annoyed at this.

/s 😁

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 2 points 1 week ago

Everybody has always been annoyed by them. Since before computers existed; newspaper headlines were the original clickbait and it's always sucked.

[–] DJDarren@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 week ago

I don’t really mind clickbaity headlines, but I’m getting real tired of LIVE headlines, where instead of writing a story they just do Mastodon-style live reactions, like me getting pissed and watching Eurovision.

[–] crozilla@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Tell your friends and family not to fall for it then. Ad dicks will come up with something new and equally horrible.

[–] winni@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I dont click on them. Unfortunately rss is going in the same direction

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

Newspapers used to be displayed in boxes, and available for sale almost vending machine-style.

I imagine headlines were "buy-bait" back then. But maybe they weren't quite as good at it, since it hadn't been studied as much?

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

"Universe rotates every 500 billion years"

Source: labrudirudikudi.au.net.eu

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 1 points 1 week ago

If you think that's bad, wait until I tell you one obscure detail about this common thing! But first, let me tell you about Raid Shadow Legends...

[–] Blaster_M@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

For the past 10 years

[–] callouscomic@lemm.ee 1 points 1 week ago

News headlines have gotten more clickbaity. Here's why.

[–] raltoid@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It was wild for a while, then scaled back and not it's re-emerging with a vengance. It's really annoying, and it's spreading to social media. It was getting crazy on reddit, where people have gone back to literally ending titles with "And then this happened"(actually using the word "this" instead of a real descriptor).

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