Clickbait
It is a deceptive headline technique aiming to ensure the content is clicked by intentionally provoking the reader’s curiosity with incomplete information.
Clickbait looks for the value of the news not in its content, but in the click-through rate of the headline. Instead of giving a summary of the event, an information gap is created with expressions like ‘Here is that detail’, ‘It shocked those who saw it’. The reader is forced to click the link to complete the missing information. (Note: Clickbait is the name of a concept. MagPunk’s ‘low quality’ label does not map onto it one to one: it catches measurable patterns and often misses headlines that merely leave a curiosity gap — see 2.3.3.)
Example: Giving the result of a match as ‘Surprise score in the giant derby!’ and explaining the score only in the last paragraph of the news.
Go deeper
This method is a direct result of the digital advertising model. Systems that generate revenue per page view focus on drawing the user to the site at all costs. Clickbait not only steals the reader’s time, but also devalues the content and context of the news. Although it provides a short-term interaction increase, it damages the relationship of trust between the reader and the publisher in the long run. Quality journalism is based on the principle of giving the most critical information directly in the headline instead of creating an information gap.
1.2.5 M2: Clickbait Test
M2Examine six headlines, decide if they are clickbait, and compare with the model's verdict.