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Decoding News Sources: Credible, Fake, or Click-Bait?: You Won't Believe How Websites Are Marketing Content Now! (KC)

This guide will explain how you can protect yourself from falling for fake news by walking you through the differences between credible news sources and those with strong biases and/or tendencies to use incorrect data.

What is Click-Bait?

You may have seen click-bait news before. They usually present headlines such as:

  • 10 Ways Cats Can Suck the Life Out of You
  • 9 Reasons You Can Blame the Recession on Cats
  • The Most Incredible Article About Facebook You'll Ever Read
  • Why Facebook is Destroying America
  • The Rise of Librarians and How to Make it Stop

These headlines are written, usually in a misleading manner, to encourage online users to click on the headline to generate website traffic. They can elicit emotional responses from users as a method of attracting attention and are especially prevalent on social media sites such as Facebook.

Videos

Don't Like Click-Bait? Don't Click!-Sally Kohn

4:36

Doesn't it seem like a lot of online news sites have moved beyond reporting the news to openly inciting your outrage (and your page views)? News analyst Sally Kohn suggests — don't engage with news that looks like it just wants to make you mad. Instead, give your precious clicks to the news sites you truly trust.

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

Scholarly Articles About Click-Bait

  1. McNeal, M. (2015). One writer explored the marketing science behind clickbait. You'll never believe what she found out. (cover story). Marketing Insights, 27(4), 24-31. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=110053652&site=ehost-live
  2. Palau-Sampio, D. (2016). Reference press metamorphosis in the digital context: Clickbait and  tabloid strategies in Elpais.com. Communication & Society, 29(2), 63-79. doi:10.15581/003.29.2.63-79

Avoiding Click-Bait

Just for Fun