Clickbait headlines. We see them every day on social media.
What is clickbait? “Website content that is aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs…”
We’ve all clicked the play button on what we thought was a video player but was in fact a not-so-cleverly disguised article post, and now we’re on our way to some weird website we’ve never heard of, with pop-ups o’plenty.
Some real examples from this morning’s news feed:
These Middle Schoolers Went Behind Their Coach’s Back. When You See Why, You’ll Cry.
This Lost Puppy Walks Up To A Man At Work. The Result? Absolutely Life Changing.
This Man Finds Random Egg On His Balcony. You’ll Never Guess What Came Next…
Of course, the concept of uplifting content is a noble endeavor and a benchmark of humanity’s drive to stay optimistic and to share good news in the social medium, and we applaud initiatives like TED Talks (@tedtalks) and content clearing houses like Upworthy (@upworthy) for helping to set this trend.
But things have gotten out of hand, and it’s time to fight back!
[hr] To that end, we’re taking ownership of this ever-expanding collection of horrid headlines and shameless clickbait, and crowdsourcing the best and brightest. [hr]
Enter as many clickbait titles as you’d like using the Facebook Comment widget below!
Here are some in-house contributions to kick off your thought train:
Morbidly Obese Man Does Aerobics. The Result Leaves Him Breathless…
Man Ordered Extra Value Meal at Chipotle. What Happened Next Blew His Family Away…
He Left a Chicken Salad Sandwich in a Hot Car All Day. He Was Speechless When He Found It…
What’s YOUR Best Clickbait Headline?
The best submissions will be added, with credit, to this article and preserved for all time.
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And for your extra enjoyment, go ahead and have a scroll through @UpWorthIt’s Twitter feed, where likeminded folks are carrying the torch:
