# CNN and Clickbait - Clickbait in general **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 6, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921 "2014-11-06T19:56:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/1 "2014-11-06T19:56:52Z")
WTF is it with CNN and goddamn clickbait? Not that CNN is the most prestigious media outlet but, REALLY? “Blah, blah, blah and THEN…this!” “The World’s Catchiest Song is…” “The best investment I ever made…” People must click on these asinine things or they wouldn’t be doing it. I hate fucking clickbait and the sites that use it. That shit should be banned. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/2 "2014-11-06T20:02:04Z")
I despise it too, to the point that I actively avoid clicking links with that kind of phrasing. A pointless gesture, because (much like trolling) they’re never going to stop as long as it keeps working. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/3 "2014-11-06T20:07:41Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I hate fucking clickbait and the sites that use it. That shit should be banned. Right underneath your post: “Some of these new Pronovias wedding collections might just be too sexy for the aisle.” "UK public Snaps Up Bargains Using ‘Bizarre’ Online Trick “Amazing facts you probably don’t want to know about!” “The most expensive things you don’t need!” Then below that: “15 Celebrities with Imperfections That Add To Their Beauty” “Which 10 Pension Mistakes Most People Make?” “8 Shocking Injury Claims Britain Kept Secret” etc. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/4 "2014-11-06T21:44:24Z")
I just noticed this on CNN earlier this week and it turned me off enough to find another place to go for my headlines. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/5 "2014-11-06T22:22:38Z")
Off to Fox it is then. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/6 "2014-11-06T22:23:46Z")
CNN used to be my default news website. I haven’t been there in years. Sounds like it’ll stay that way. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/7 "2014-11-07T01:25:38Z")
Oddly enough, I found the most click-baitey site I’ve ever seen just this morning. Just browse the headlines. It looks like a parody of the worst Buzzfeed or Upworthy page ever made, but it’s completely for real: [http://sfglobe.com/?id=18058&src=home\_feed](http://sfglobe.com/?id=18058&src=home_feed) ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/8 "2014-11-07T01:32:23Z")
At least it brought us the hilarious Clickhole. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/9 "2014-11-07T04:37:23Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Off to Fox it is then. Liberals destroyed America, and then… New document bombshell: Obama was born WHERE? White? Christian? Six reasons you should worry about 2015 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/10 "2014-11-07T10:52:33Z")
CNN is still fine for news, as long as you’ve set your browser to default to the international version and not the US. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/11 "2014-11-07T12:01:35Z")
You will not BELIEVE the 5 NSFW pics hidden under this Spoiler Tag!!! [Pic 1](http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BeatlesCommies-1.jpg) [Pic2](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/fb/e9/58/fbe958faf350c61884607c42b84fc7a4.jpg) [Pic 3](http://c300221.r21.cf1.rackcdn.com/the-flying-nun-1350102349_b.jpg) [Pic 4](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/28/f3/a5/28f3a51a940a6b57b58fd8b9f6f1f531.jpg) [Pic 5](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VGSrBl7cLtc/T8-fjk-zOMI/AAAAAAAABqo/RS_8Wm4tNEE/s1600/KennyG+(1).jpg) ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/12 "2014-11-07T12:20:45Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > You will not BELIEVE the 5 NSFW pics hidden under this Spoiler Tag!!! > > [Pic 1](http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BeatlesCommies-1.jpg) [Pic2](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/fb/e9/58/fbe958faf350c61884607c42b84fc7a4.jpg) [Pic 3](http://c300221.r21.cf1.rackcdn.com/the-flying-nun-1350102349_b.jpg) [Pic 4](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/28/f3/a5/28f3a51a940a6b57b58fd8b9f6f1f531.jpg) [Pic 5](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VGSrBl7cLtc/T8-fjk-zOMI/AAAAAAAABqo/RS_8Wm4tNEE/s1600/KennyG+(1).jpg) Number 5 is the most shocking! Click and find out why! ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/13 "2014-11-07T13:00:47Z")
_“Watch this good samaritan hand a homeless man a pizza, you’ll not believe what happens next!”_ I’ve heard the term clickbait more often in the past two months than I have in the past two year. Let’s hope its the beginning of a backlash. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/14 "2014-11-07T13:24:19Z")
[QUOTE=MikeF] I hate fucking clickbait and the sites that use it. That shit should be banned. [/QUOTE] [Here are 12 reasons](http://www.onepagenews.com/2011/11/17/chemtrails-10-reasons-you-know-they-are-real/) that explain why advertisers _fear_ **MikeF**. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/15 "2014-11-07T13:26:35Z")
WATCH what happens when I COMPLETELY endorse this pitting!! Well, actually nothing happens, but anyway. It’s hard to take a news website seriously when some of the headlines today are: [ul] [li]Taylor Swift is taking over the world.[/li][li]What it’s like to be a GAY cowboy[/li][li]How does co-anchor just SIT there?[/li][li]Parents raise $ to buy strip club[/li][li]Diamond engagement rings are SO over.[/li][/ul] And, no, I will not link to those stories, although now you know you want to read them! CNN has become an unholy union of the National Enquirer and Seventeen magazine. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/16 "2014-11-07T13:30:23Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > I just noticed this on CNN earlier this week and it turned me off enough to find another place to go for my headlines. I tend to use the BBC. Granted, that’s because it was used in the “Latest Headlines” live bookmark that used to come with Firefox. The only thing that bothers me is how often their opinion pieces don’t have a comment section, while real news will. It seems like it should be the other way around. Still, it has fewer comments than most news sites, so that should be a plus for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/17 "2014-11-07T13:33:00Z")
Ironically (?) the clickbait has been obnoxious for a long time on the Dope (for the non-member scum). I especially love the “you may have this horrible parasite” and “mysterious deaths of MMA fighters” come-ons. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/18 "2014-11-07T13:49:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Ironically (?) the clickbait has been obnoxious for a long time on the Dope (for the non-member scum). > > I especially love the “you may have this horrible parasite” and “mysterious deaths of MMA fighters” come-ons. [evil chuckle} hee hee hee {/evil chuckle} What? I have no idea what you are talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/19 "2014-11-20T06:45:41Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > “The World’s Catchiest Song is…” “The best investment I ever made…” You forgot: For Flat Belly, Follow This 1 Rule ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921/20 "2014-11-20T16:31:06Z")
I saw the most unintentionally hilarious was one a couple of days ago. It was something like “The best sex of your life is happening right now!” Which made me pretty disappointed that it wasn’t happening to me. ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-and-clickbait-clickbait-in-general/703921.md?page=2)