11–20 of 93 posts
It has a lot of impact on me even if I try to ignore because I see so much sharing of misinformation and sources that are not even close to credible. It is especially troubling when it is from people I trust and respect and it takes a lot of self control to ignore and move along as I know arguing online about these things online hardly ever improves the situation.
I know it wasn't their intent to attempt to provide solutions, but it bothers me having absolutely no idea how to even begin to solve this problem at scale, in a world where it's becoming easier and cheaper to influence such large amounts of people. Every single idea I've thought can either be defeated, exploited, or ignored, and I haven't seen a project or effort that seems strong enough to go to battle for.
Has anyone here seen something worth exploring?
* with a title $villain $unflattering_third_person_present_verb $something
* with the format $hero $flattering_third_person_present_verb $something
* a person in the thumbnail making an o-face[1] for any reason
Then I simply don’t click on it.
[1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/zme97a/inside-the-strange-wo...
It’s so widely acknowledged that headlines mislead, and also that people often only read the headline. Why does the editorial practice of shitty headlines persist so strongly? It seems like journalistic integrity goes so much further with article content than article headlines, so why do they put up with it?
It persists in order to get people to read the paper. This is openly acknowledged in the industry ( https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/09/insider/how-to-write-a-ne... ); headline writers are aiming to "[create] a mystery that can only be solved by reading further" and "reach and draw in as many people as possible", while making sure they don't "give away the ending". Journalistic integrity isn't as strong of a concern s…
Shouldn’t it still concern them? If I wrote a piece about Obama making a hard choice to fund orphanages or schools and it got a headline “Obama yanks funding from orphans” then I’d be pissed. Journalistic integrity of headlines needs to at least be somebody’s concern.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because it is a market optimal strategy. Since consumers express strong preference for emotional headlines, it is optimal to give them that. Consumers frequently lie that they prefer honest headlines, but that is merely a mismatch between their true beliefs and the identity they wish to project themselves as having. One strategy for success is to be the fall guy for everything. And then be paid for it. Journalism ult…
Consumers frequently lie that they prefer honest headlines No. "Revealed preference" is exploitation of vice, plain and simple. Addicts might honestly say they would prefer to abstain, but still relapse. The same dopamine systems are being exploited in either case.
Where preferences come from is irrelevant. De gustibus non disputandum est.
I like them and even set up a script to pull down the homepage as a .pdf each day to read it. Today's would be:
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/12/30/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf
The front page articles seem emotional. They seem opinionated. Bit they're not marked "opinion"
Even if I agree with the opinion, I think they could take the high road.
The only solution is not to engage with emotionally manipulative content. Even, for example, with nerdy YouTube channels that I love, if a video shows up in my feed: * with a title $villain $unflattering_third_person_present_verb $something * with the format $hero $flattering_third_person_present_verb $something * a person in the thumbnail making an o-face[1] for any reason Then I simply don’t click on it. [1] https:…
With some luck there'll be a really credible secondary, or even better, the primary source. Those usually come without clickbait headlines.
This is much better that an ad-blocker, since it doesn't increase click count for the attention-seeking clickbait news provider, and yields no money for them. In the long run, this drains their money stream. At least I hope so.
It is also simple enough to understand and follow to pass over to most non-IT-friends and acquaintances.
The only solution is not to engage with emotionally manipulative content. Even, for example, with nerdy YouTube channels that I love, if a video shows up in my feed: * with a title $villain $unflattering_third_person_present_verb $something * with the format $hero $flattering_third_person_present_verb $something * a person in the thumbnail making an o-face[1] for any reason Then I simply don’t click on it. [1] https:…
It is hard to overcome this natural tendency, and without education and effort and a wide variety of sources one can be pretty easily deceived and brainwashed.