Clickbait, Fake News, and That Stuff I Write. | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

Clickbait, Fake News, and That Stuff I Write.

Welcome to the world of crappy news.

25
Clickbait, Fake News, and That Stuff I Write.

We all love clickbait. Whether it's "You Won't Believe What Stupid Thing They Found in Their House," or "You'll Want to See More About This Giant Collection of Oven Mitts," or my personal favorite still, "Click Here to Learn Very Short, Semi-Funny, Kind of Stupid Snippets of Other People's Lives."

When I type It out like that it makes clickbait sound dumb, doesn't it? That's because it is dumb.

Now, clickbait actually is good for one thing. Finding all the sales prices at all your favorite stores where you like to shop online. Since, stay with me here: That's the whole point. They say televised advertising doesn't work. That may be true, but it doesn't matter when everyone cancels cable and switches to Netflix on their laptop. Why? Because you go to the advertising.

It's like the lamb walking into the wolf's mouth and saying, "Feed me." Clickbait is like journalism's shitty cousin. Which, I guess makes me the author of journalism's shitty cousin occasionally.

I'm not saying the stories you can find on a clickbait article you see on Facebook won't even amuse or hold your attention for a moment, I'm just saying that they're a waste of time. You know why else you shouldn't look at clickbait? I don't have a reason, but I'm sure you can find one for yourself.

The only thing we love more than clickbait is shitty journalism. You know how you can find shitty journalism? It tells you exactly what you want to hear. It's like the wolf telling the sheep he won't eat him after the sheep has already jumped in his mouth as he iis voraciously tearing into him.

There's been a great deal of controversy lately over "fake journalism," and though it's important to tell the difference between opinionated journalism and plain fake journalism for advertising, it's also important to be wary.

Then there's opinion pieces. Look, everyone likes having their ego polished, but if all you post is opinion pieces, you're probably not all that concerned with politics, or any other issue really, and are more interested with having people agree with you. You know what they say about opinions.

Just because they happen to be in a newspaper doesn't actually mean they're somehow better than the average person's views. Granted, they're generally written well, but they're not factually based on an incident, rather they are emotionally and opinion driven. It's important to be able to tell the difference when you read the news.

Check out my cool article next time: "You Won't Believe These 50 Left-handed Monkeys Who Wear 50 Different Types of Hats."

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

12 Midnight NYE: Fun Ideas!

This isn't just for the single Pringles out there either, folks

13483
Friends celebrating the New Years!
StableDiffusion

When the clock strikes twelve midnight on New Year's Eve, do you ever find yourself lost regarding what to do during that big moment? It's a very important moment. It is the first moment of the New Year, doesn't it seem like you should be doing something grand, something meaningful, something spontaneous? Sure, many decide to spend the moment on the lips of another, but what good is that? Take a look at these other suggestions on how to ring in the New Year that are much more spectacular and exciting than a simple little kiss.

Keep Reading...Show less
piano
Digital Trends

I am very serious about the Christmas season. It's one of my favorite things, and I love it all from gift-giving to baking to the decorations, but I especially love Christmas music. Here are 11 songs you should consider adding to your Christmas playlists.

Keep Reading...Show less
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

2609
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1598
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments