On Facebook we all have friends who post news clips and other posts from dodgy sources. A website with a strange name that just looks made up, more times than not those sites are clickbait that feature content of a sensational headlines. Usually they are meant to generate online advertising revenue. We have all fallen for those headlines that make us want to find out more because of an article that we find interesting. However, it can be frustrating when you visit those sites only to be disappointed by the content and also the massive amount of ads and further clickbait articles that takes you down a deeper hole. Be careful about where you click.
My philosophy is simple when posting news and other articles on my blog and on Facebook. If its a brand name like CBS, CNN, ABC, BBC, ITV, Huffington Post, The Independent, Buzz Feed, USA Today and the like I will share it. Anything that sounds just made up then you won’t see it from me. I will share articles from satire sites like The Onion or The Babylon Bee (a Christian satire site similar to the Onion). My site will feature shared links, video, embedded Tweets and other media. It’s important to vary the type of content I share.
In a world where we are so inundated with information you have to be careful. Reliable sources with a heritage of sharing accurate information is what you will find here. I owe it to you my fellow bloggers that if I am sharing the news and current events of the day that you can believe it. Clickbait is a nuisance and it can lead to someone being grossly misinformed. Use sites like Snopes and do a Google search to see if what you are looking at is indeed a true story.
Before you share an article, check its source. Some things are too good to be true and you might be padding someone’s advertising budget.
I’m so tired of everything being so sensationalized! Even the evening news “Coming up next, you won’t believe it…” then it turns out to be something so mundane. Ugh. Good post though, thanks!
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I changed my blog theme, would you check it out…see what you think?
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Hi Tony, I like the new theme. Scrolling through I got caught on your Twitter scroll, but a slight move of the mouse corrected that. Did you take that cover photo??
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Well said. Clickbait annoys me to no end.
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Clickbait posts make me so mad. Usually they are in the form of “slideshows” and each picture takes forever to load. And they are always disappointing–never living up to the hype in their sensational titles. I’ve learned to avoid them.
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I changed my blog theme, would you check it out…see what you think?
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I really like it. It looks sharp with the black background and it’s simpler, easier onthe eyes. Good choice!
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Everything you describe is true – the slideshow, the amount of time to load each one, and they do end up disappointing!
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There are more of such out there — google ‘catfishing’
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