A definition of clickbait
Clickbait is literally bait meant to make people click. This usually applies to the title of a news article. When a title is clickbait, it’s meant to make people curious enough to click through to the full article. That means clickbait titles are always shocking, surprising or overly promising, when the contents of the article might not be.
What is the purpose of clickbait?
Many websites, even reliable news websites, largely depend on advertisement revenue. The more visitors they can draw to their website, the higher the revenue. That’s why the owners of websites that contain informative (news) articles or blog posts like to present the contents as attractively as possible. This will make social media users more likely to click and increase traffic to the website.
For some creators of fake news, advertisement revenue is even their main reason for spreading fake news.
Is clickbait bad?
Clickbait isn’t by definition bad or dangerous. It is mostly annoying when you click an article and notice that its contents don’t match the title. But clickbait can carry risk. When the technique is used to spread fake news, it will help the disinformation reach a larger audience. That’s why it’s good to be able to recognise clickbait, as it will warn you to be more critical of the article’s contents.
How to recognise clickbait
There are a number of ‘clickbait formulas’ that are often used because they tend to be effective:
- The title predicts the reader’s response
- “You’ll never believe what person X looks like today”
- “Reading this will make your jaw drop”
- The title describes other people’s reactions
- “X’s wife was shocked to discover this about him”
- “Ever since this shocking discovery, the entire village keeps their doors locked”
- The title does not say who it’s about
- “They never thought this could happen to them”
- “She was cheating on him when she made this shocking discovery”
- The title addresses you personally
- “Are you over 50? This trick will change your life!”
- “Do you use your smartphone as an alarm clock? Be careful of this shocking effect!”
- The title includes negative emotions
- “Readers angered by this discovery”
- “The truth about X will make you burst into tears”
- The title mentions an authoritative figure or famous person
- “A trick everyone should know according to Oprah”
- “These celebrities are done with corona”
- The title uses superlatives
- “The smartest way to get a mortgage”
- “How to earn a fortune in no time”
