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Eric Barroso

Fake News: Clickbait


It is no secret that fake news is everywhere, and that people need to be careful to avoid it and able to spot it. One very common form of fake news is false headlines, also known as "clickbait," by many. This is the use of sensationalist headlines or a misleading thumbnail picture in order to get a person to click on the fake news. These headlines and pictures are generally misleading and deceptive and therefore commonly known as fake news. In an article titled "Fake News: How to Spot it" the author describes clickbait as, "A news headline may read one way or state something as fact, but then the body of the article says something different." Additionally, the author states, "This type of fake news is misleading at best and untrue at worst." I have experienced this personally on YouTube, for example when a you-tuber has a title that says "I'm leaving for good" and has a thumbnail of them smashing a camera, just to click on the video and find out that they aren't leaving YouTube. Clickbait works because it is manipulating the audience's emotions to get them to click on something. When a headline or thumbnail seems exaggerated, you should assume that it could possibly be fake news or at the very least expect it to be misleading.



[1 image, 2 quotations, 1 link, 221 words]

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