1, #188 - Skip the clickbait
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Last week I was talking with a friend about Betteridge’s law of headlines:
“Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.”
This is specifically for yes-no questions, and even then—it isn’t always true. But now that you know this rule, you’ll be surprised how often it works.
Why? Because writers are trying to catch your attention with the most provocative possible claim. If they can back it up with facts, then the headline will just be a statement! But when they can’t, there’s plausible deniability in framing it as a question.
This works, but it’s lame. So, if you’re a writer: Cut it out! And if you’re a reader, save yourself the trouble and just assume the answer’s no.
Insight inspired by Ian Betteridge.
“Is This Clickbait?”
As a thought exercise add a question mark to the end of every headline starting with this one: "Skip the clickbait?"