A throwback to Jurassic Park — “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
I have no issue with click bait titles on sites like medium or blogs run by non journalists. The issue is when news sites take this approach as well because engagement drives the bottom line.
A headline should never tell me how to feel about something. Full stop. It should describe the message — but it should not make up my mind for me. Playing to emotions are exactly why people fall for fake news — because the headline justifies their bias. There needs to be some drive or initiative from marketers to find a balance between engagement and honoring the spirit of truth and facts behind a written piece.