clickbait

{{short description|Web content intended to entice users to click on a link}}

File:Example clickbait adverts.jpg" style adverts, employing common clickbait tactics{{cite news |last1=Gardiner |first1=Bryan |title=You'll Be Outraged At How Easy It Was To Get You To Click On This Headline |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/12/psychology-of-clickbait/ |access-date=2 August 2018 |publisher=Wired |date=18 December 2015 |archive-date=17 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617224846/https://www.wired.com/2015/12/psychology-of-clickbait/ |url-status=live }} of using an information gap to encourage reader curiosity, and promising easy-to-read numbered lists]]

Clickbait (also known as link bait or linkbait){{cite book |author-last=Brown |author-first=Sunni |author-link=Sunni Brown |title=The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently |year=2014 |quote=Link bait is content or a feature on a website that is expressly designed to get users' attention so they click through to another website.}} is a text or a thumbnail link that is designed to attract attention and to entice users to follow ("click") that link and view, read, stream or listen to the linked piece of online content, being typically deceptive, sensationalized, or otherwise misleading.{{cite news |last1=Frampton |first1=Ben |title=Clickbait - the changing face of online journalism |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34213693 |access-date=12 June 2018 |publisher=BBC |date=14 September 2015 |quote=Headline writing has long been considered a skill but, in the digital age, a new word has become synonymous with online journalism - clickbait.
Put simply, it is a headline which tempts the reader to click on the link to the story. But the name is used pejoratively to describe headlines which are sensationalised, turn out to be adverts or are simply misleading. |archive-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331022113/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34213693 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=O'Donovan |first1=Caroline |title=What is clickbait? |url=http://www.niemanlab.org/2014/08/what-is-clickbait/ |website=Nieman Foundation for Journalism |publisher=Niewman labs |access-date=12 June 2018 |quote=Clickbait is in the eye of the beholder, but Facebook defines it as 'when a publisher posts a link with a headline that encourages people to click to see more, without telling them much information about what they will see.' |archive-date=28 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828191150/http://www.niemanlab.org/2014/08/what-is-clickbait/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last1=Zheng |first1=Hai-Tao |last2=Chen |first2=Jin-Yuan |last3=Yao |first3=Xin |last4=Sangaiah |first4=Arun |last5=Jiang |first5=Yong |last6=Zhao |first6=Cong-Zhi |date=2018-05-01 |title=Clickbait Convolutional Neural Network |journal=Symmetry |language=en |volume=10 |issue=5 |page=138 |doi=10.3390/sym10050138 |bibcode=2018Symm...10..138Z |issn=2073-8994|doi-access=free }} A "teaser" aims to exploit the "curiosity gap", providing just enough information to make readers of news websites curious, but not enough to satisfy their curiosity without clicking through to the linked content. Clickbait headlines often add an element of dishonesty, using enticements that do not accurately reflect the content being delivered.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/upworthy-i-thought-this-website-was-crazy-but-what-happened-next-changed-everything/281472/|title=Upworthy: I Thought This Website Was Crazy, but What Happened Next Changed Everything|date=14 November 2013|author=Derek Thompson|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=6 March 2017|archive-date=15 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415042237/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/upworthy-i-thought-this-website-was-crazy-but-what-happened-next-changed-everything/281472/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/05/23/mind-the-curiosity-gap-how-can-upworthy-be-noble-and-right-when-its-clickbait-headlines-feel-so-wrong/|title=Mind the 'curiosity gap': How can Upworthy be 'noble' and right when its clickbait headlines feel so wrong?|date=23 May 2014|author=Katy Waldman|publisher=National Post|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-date=23 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523235454/http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/05/23/mind-the-curiosity-gap-how-can-upworthy-be-noble-and-right-when-its-clickbait-headlines-feel-so-wrong/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/14/saving-us-from-ourselves-the-anti-clickbait-movement.html|title=Saving Us From Ourselves: The Anti-Clickbait Movement|author=Emily Shire|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=14 July 2014|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-date=18 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218122809/https://www.thedailybeast.com/saving-us-from-ourselves-the-anti-clickbait-movement|url-status=live}}

The "-bait" suffix makes an analogy with fishing, where a hook is disguised by an enticement (bait), presenting the impression to the fish that it is a desirable thing to swallow.{{cite web|title=Where Clickbait Came From, And Why It's Here to Stay|url=https://www.naytev.com/insights/clickbait-101|access-date=2021-12-21|website=www.naytev.com|archive-date=21 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221091702/https://www.naytev.com/insights/clickbait-101|url-status=live}}

Before the Internet, a marketing practice known as bait-and-switch used similar dishonest methods to hook customers. In extreme degree, like bait-and-switch, clickbait is a form of fraud. (Click fraud, however, is a separate form of online misrepresentation which uses a more extreme disconnect between what is being presented in the frontside of the link versus what is on the click-through side of the link, also encompassing malicious code.) The term clickbait does not encompass all cases where the user arrives at a destination that is not anticipated from the link that is clicked.

Definition

A defining characteristic of clickbait is misrepresentation in the enticement presented to the user to manipulate them to click onto a link. While there is no universally agreed-upon definition of clickbait, Merriam-Webster defines clickbait as "something designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink, especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest."{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clickbait|title=Definition of CLICKBAIT|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=19 April 2019|archive-date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906171843/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clickbait|url-status=live}} Dictionary.com states that clickbait is "a sensationalized headline or piece of text on the Internet designed to entice people to follow a link to an article on another web page."{{cite web |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/clickbait |title=Clickbait Definition & Meaning |publisher=Dictionary.com |date= |accessdate=2022-05-13 |archive-date=8 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408034952/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/clickbait |url-status=live }}

In 2014, BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith stated that his publication avoided using clickbait, using a strict definition of clickbait as a headline that is dishonest about the content of the article. Smith noted that Buzzfeed headlines such as "A 5-Year-Old Girl Raised Enough Money To Take Her Father Who Has Terminal Cancer To Disney World" delivered exactly what the headline promised. The fact that the headline was written to be eye-catching was irrelevant in Smith's view, since the headline accurately described the article.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/why-buzzfeed-doesnt-do-clickbait|title=Why BuzzFeed Doesn't Do Clickbait|last=Smith|first=Ben|date=6 November 2014|website=BuzzFeed|language=en|access-date=16 January 2019|archive-date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106214758/https://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/why-buzzfeed-doesnt-do-clickbait|url-status=live}}

Facebook, while trying to reduce the amount of clickbait shown to users, defined the term as a headline that encourages users to click, but does not tell them what they will see. However, this definition excludes much content that is generally regarded as clickbait.

A more commonly used definition is a headline that intentionally over-promises and under-delivers.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/25/wtf-is-clickbait/|title=WTF is clickbait?|website=TechCrunch|date=26 September 2016|language=en-US|access-date=16 January 2019|archive-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926194734/https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/25/wtf-is-clickbait/|url-status=live}} The articles associated with such headlines often are unoriginal, and either merely restate the headline, or copies content from a more genuine news source.

The term clickbait is sometimes used for any article that is unflattering to a person. In such cases, the article is not actually clickbait by any legitimate definition of the term.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/27/silicon-valley-billionaires-peter-thiel-gawker-first-amendment-journalism|title=What Silicon Valley's billionaires don't understand about the first amendment {{!}} Nellie Bowles|last=Bowles|first=Nellie|date=27 May 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=16 January 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=16 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116100335/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/27/silicon-valley-billionaires-peter-thiel-gawker-first-amendment-journalism|url-status=live}}

Background

From a historical perspective, the techniques employed by clickbait authors can be considered derivative of yellow journalism, which presented little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead used eye-catching headlines that included exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism.{{cite web | url=https://gigaom.com/2014/04/01/the-internet-didnt-invent-viral-content-or-clickbait-journalism-theres-just-more-of-it-now-and-it-happens-faster/ | title=The internet didn't invent viral content or clickbait journalism — there's just more of it now, and it happens faster | publisher=GigaOM | date=1 April 2014 | access-date=6 August 2016 | author=Ingram, Mathew | archive-date=3 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403191958/https://gigaom.com/2014/04/01/the-internet-didnt-invent-viral-content-or-clickbait-journalism-theres-just-more-of-it-now-and-it-happens-faster/ | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/how-son-of-sam-changed-america-w431502 | title=How Son of Sam Changed America | publisher=Rolling Stone | date=29 July 2016 | access-date=6 August 2016 | author=Drell, Cady | archive-date=30 July 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730222243/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/how-son-of-sam-changed-america-w431502 | url-status=live }} One cause of such sensational stories is the controversial practice called checkbook journalism, where news reporters pay sources for their information without verifying its truth. In the U.S. it is generally considered an unethical practice, as it often turns celebrities and politicians into lucrative targets of unproven allegations.Kurtz, Howard. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/01/27/fees-for-sleaze/fc04dcd0-127c-4e2a-a17b-6f3960c128cd/ "Fees for Sleaze"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805125556/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/01/27/fees-for-sleaze/fc04dcd0-127c-4e2a-a17b-6f3960c128cd/ |date=5 August 2019 }}, Washington Post, 27 January 1994 According to Washington Post writer Howard Kurtz, "this thriving tabloid culture has erased the old definitions of news by including tawdry and sensational stories about celebrities for the sake of profit."

Use

File:Clickbait-art-Bondi-Junction.jpg, Australia]]

Clickbait is primarily used to drive page views on websites,{{cite web|title=WTF is clickbait?|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/25/wtf-is-clickbait/|access-date=22 July 2020|website=TechCrunch|date=26 September 2016|language=en-US|archive-date=31 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831170718/http://techcrunch.com/2016/09/25/wtf-is-clickbait/|url-status=live}} whether for their own purposes or to increase online advertising revenue.{{Cite news|last=Frampton|first=Ben|date=14 September 2015|title=Is clickbait changing journalism?|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34213693|access-date=22 July 2020|archive-date=31 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331022113/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34213693|url-status=live}} It can also be used for phishing attacks for the purpose of spreading malicious files or stealing user information.{{Cite book|title=Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security|last1=Bryant|first1=Adam|last2=Lopez|first2=Juan|last3=Mills|first3=Robert|publisher=Academic Conferences and Publishing Limited|year=2017|isbn=9781911218258|location=Reading, UK|page=27}} The attack occurs once the user opens the link provided to learn more. Clickbait has also been used for political ends and has been blamed for the rise of post-truth politics. Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief at The Guardian wrote that "chasing down cheap clicks at the expense of accuracy and veracity" undermined the value of journalism and truth.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-technology-disrupted-the-truth|title=How technology disrupted the truth|date=12 July 2016|access-date=12 July 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|author=Katharine Viner|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220110839/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-technology-disrupted-the-truth|url-status=live}} Emotional subjects with stark headlines are widely shared and clicked, which resulted in what Slate described as an "aggregation of outrage" and a proliferation of websites across the political spectrum – including Breitbart News, Huffington Post, Salon, Townhall and the Gawker Media blogs – which profited by producing shareable short-form pieces offering simple moral judgements on political and cultural issues.

Click-through rates (CTRs) on YouTube show that videos with hyperbolic or misleading title, created for the purpose of being attention-grabbing, displayed higher click-through rates than videos which did not. Clickbait tactics generally lead to higher clickthrough rates, and to higher revenue and optimization of a content creator's overall engagement.{{Cite book|last=Berger|first=Jonah|title=What Makes online Content Viral?|publisher=Journal of Marketing Research|year=2012|pages=190–205}}

There are various clickbait strategies, including the composition of headlines of news and online articles that build suspense and sensation, luring and teasing users to click.{{Cite book|title=Web and Big Data: First International Joint Conference, APWeb-WAIM 2017, Beijing, China, July 7–9, 2017, Proceedings, Part 2|last1=Chen|first1=Lei|last2=Jensen|first2=Christian|last3=Shahabi|first3=Cyrus|last4=Yang|first4=Xiaochun|last5=Lian|first5=Xiang|publisher=Springer|year=2017|isbn=9783319635637|location=Cham|page=73}} Some of the popular approaches in achieving these include the presentation of link and images that are interesting to the user, exploiting curiosity related to greed or prurient interest. It is not uncommon, for instance, for these contents to include lewd image or a "make money quick" scheme.

Clickbait is also used in abundance on streaming platforms that thrive with targeted ads and personalization. At the International Consumer Electronics Show, YouTube revealed that most of the videos watched and watch-time generated did not come from Google searches, but from personalized advertisements and the recommendations page.{{cite web|url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2018/01/11/youtube-most-watch-time-driven-by-recommendations/#:~:text=At%20the%20International%20Consumer%20Electronics,powered%20by%20artificial%20intelligence%20and|access-date=29 April 2021|website=www.tubefilter.com|title=YouTube Says 70% of All Watch Time is Driven by Its Own Recommendations|date=11 January 2018|archive-date=24 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524132022/https://www.tubefilter.com/2018/01/11/youtube-most-watch-time-driven-by-recommendations/#:~:text=At%20the%20International%20Consumer%20Electronics,powered%20by%20artificial%20intelligence%20and|url-status=live}} Recommendations on YouTube are driven by a viewer's personal watch history and videos that get an abundance of clicks. With a streaming platform like YouTube, which has upwards of 30 million active users a day, the videos that are watched are very likely to be those with clickbait in either the title or thumbnail of the video, garnering attention and therefore clicks.{{cite web|date=3 January 2021|title=• YouTube by the Numbers (2021): Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts|url=https://www.omnicoreagency.com/youtube-statistics/|access-date=29 April 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331065227/https://www.omnicoreagency.com/youtube-statistics/|url-status=live}}

Backlash

By 2014, the ubiquity of clickbait on the web had begun to lead to a backlash against its use.{{cite web|url=http://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/clickbait-destroyer-downworthy.html|title=Clickbait Bites. Downworthy Is Actually Doing Something About It|author=Christine Lagorio-Chafkin|date=27 January 2014|publisher=Inc.|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-date=30 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130071057/http://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/clickbait-destroyer-downworthy.html|url-status=live}} Satirical newspaper The Onion launched a new website, ClickHole, that parodied clickbait websites such as Upworthy and BuzzFeed,{{cite web |last=Oremus |first=Will |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/06/clickhole_the_onion_s_new_site_is_more_than_a_buzzfeed_parody.html |title=Clickhole: The Onion's new site is more than a BuzzFeed parody |publisher=Slate.com |date=19 June 2014 |access-date=24 February 2017 |archive-date=19 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619154513/http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/06/clickhole_the_onion_s_new_site_is_more_than_a_buzzfeed_parody.html |url-status=live }} and in August 2014, Facebook announced that it was taking technical measures to reduce the impact of clickbait on its social network,{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/facebook-wages-war-on-clickbait-20140826-108dd8.html|title=Facebook wages war on click-bait|date=26 August 2014|author=Lisa Visentin|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-date=28 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828003548/http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/facebook-wages-war-on-clickbait-20140826-108dd8.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/08/25/why_mark_zuckerbergs_war_on_clickbait_proves_we_are_all_pawns_of_social_media/|title=Why Mark Zuckerberg's war on click bait proves we are all pawns of social media|author=Andrew Leonard|date=25 August 2014|work=Salon|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826221521/http://www.salon.com/2014/08/25/why_mark_zuckerbergs_war_on_clickbait_proves_we_are_all_pawns_of_social_media/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/08/news-feed-fyi-click-baiting/|title=News Feed FYI: Click-baiting|publisher=Facebook Inc.|date=25 August 2014|author=Khalid El-Arini and Joyce Tang|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-date=25 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825175605/http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/08/news-feed-fyi-click-baiting/|url-status=live}} using, among other cues, the time spent by the user on visiting the linked page as a way of distinguishing clickbait from other types of content.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/business/media/facebook-takes-steps-against-click-bait-articles.html|title=Facebook Takes Steps Against 'Click Bait' Articles|author=Ravi Somaiya|date=25 August 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=1 March 2017|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112004956/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/business/media/facebook-takes-steps-against-click-bait-articles.html|url-status=live}} Ad blockers and a general fall in advertising clicks also affected the clickbait model, as websites moved toward sponsored advertising and native advertising where the content of the article was more important than the click-rate.{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2015/03/outrage_clickbait_its_internet_dominance_is_about_to_fade.html|title=The Death of Outrage|author=David Auerbach|date=10 March 2015|access-date=6 August 2016|website=Slate|archive-date=8 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808061028/http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2015/03/outrage_clickbait_its_internet_dominance_is_about_to_fade.html|url-status=live}}

Web browsers have incorporated tools to detect and mitigate the clickbait problem while social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have implemented algorithms to filter clickbait contents.{{Cite book|title=Frontier Computing: Theory, Technologies and Applications (FC 2017)|last1=Hung|first1=Jason|last2=Yen|first2=Neil|last3=Hui|first3=Lin|publisher=Springer|year=2018|isbn=9789811073977|location=Singapore|page=133}} Social media groups, such as Stop Clickbait,{{cite news|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/what-this-cu-student-is-doing-about-clickbait-will-surprise-you/441355827|title=What this CU student is doing about clickbait will surprise you!|author=KUSA Staff|date=19 May 2017|access-date=2 August 2018|archive-date=24 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524132114/https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/what-this-cu-student-is-doing-about-clickbait-will-surprise-you/441355827|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.westword.com/news/cu-boulder-students-stop-clickbait-page-wants-this-headline-to-be-better-10637018|title=This Article About Stopping Clickbait Isn't Clickbait. We Promise.|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-date=25 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025031423/https://www.westword.com/news/cu-boulder-students-stop-clickbait-page-wants-this-headline-to-be-better-10637018|url-status=live}} combat clickbait by giving a short summary of the clickbait article, closing the "curiosity gap". Clickbait-reporting browser plug-ins{{cite book|chapter=A Community Driven Approach for Click Bait Reporting|author=Darius Bufnea and Diana Șotropa|title = 2018 26th International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks (SoftCOM)|pages=1–6|date=September 2018|publisher=IEEE|doi = 10.23919/SOFTCOM.2018.8555759|isbn=978-9-5329-0087-3|s2cid=54438750}} have also been developed by the research community in order to report clickbait links for further advances in the field based on supervised learning algorithms. Security software providers offer advice on how to avoid harmful clickbait.{{cite web|url=https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/top-10-internet-safety-rules-and-what-not-to-do-online|website=usa.kaspersky.com|title=Top 10 Internet Safety Rules & What Not to Do Online|access-date=4 May 2020|archive-date=23 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123042811/https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/top-10-internet-safety-rules-and-what-not-to-do-online|url-status=live}}

References

External links

{{cite journal|last=Munger|first=Kevin|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10584609.2019.1687626|title=All the News That's Fit to Click: The Economics of Clickbait Media|journal=Political Communication|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=3 May 2020|volume=37|issue=3|pages=376–397|doi=10.1080/10584609.2019.1687626|s2cid=213688519|url-access=subscription}} - [https://pennstate.pure.elsevier.com:443/en/publications/all-the-news-thats-fit-to-click-the-economics-of-clickbait-media Profile page]

Category:Deception

Category:Internet terminology

Category:Technology neologisms

Category:News media manipulation

Category:Pejorative terms related to technology