# Have you ever heard of "Click Bait"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 21, 2014, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-click-bait/702006 "2014-10-21T08:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sweet\_chemist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@sweet\_chemist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweet_chemist)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-click-bait/702006/21 "2014-10-25T11:01:06Z")
[This video will change your life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXJDBp0yW1A), and what happens next will restore your faith in humanity. It is actually just a comedy video demonstrating how to create the perfect clickbait. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2014, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-click-bait/702006/22 "2014-10-26T08:10:27Z")
Saw some clickbait on HuffPo written by someone in the Onion News Network. It’s not the typical kind, though. They said that they didn’t see how Renee Zellweger looked any different. Someone can’t tell? You want to read and see how it’s possible. You get to the article, and the first thing it does is say she looks completely different, but goes on to discuss the propriety of caring about that sort of thing. I’m pretty sure this was done so you wouldn’t skip the article. And it doesn’t look like parody, either. No links, for fairly obvious reasons; you can find it yourself if you must. (Though I suggest viewing it via Google’s cache.) ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-click-bait/702006/23 "2014-10-27T04:02:08Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Clickbait is when an article has a headline that is exaggerated or misleading at best, getting you to visit the article for one reason but it’s really about something else. > > Buzzfeed is particularly bad for these. These include phrases like “You won’t believe what happens next!” or “25 everyday things that may kill you!” > > Buzzfeed doesn’t usually include multi-page articles that you have to keep clicking through, though. They need a different kind of name to describe their fiendish inanity. I may be wrong on my definition, but I also call it clickbait when you’re on MSN or some other site that has a news item and you hover over it only to find it’s a link to a BING search! i.e. [Jessica Biel and Peurto Rico!](http://www.bing.com/search?q=jessica+biel+vacation+and+puerto+rico&qs=AS&sk=AS1&pq=jessica+biel+vacation&sc=2-21&sp=2&cvid=f1f0994fdcc54dc19c6d44973503c187&FORM=QBLH) I just made that up on the fly. it’s a subtle difference but the point is that instead of bringing you to a specific page, you’re brought to a Bing page with a preset search already done. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-click-bait/702006/24 "2014-10-27T18:03:15Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Well, you could install [downworthy](http://downworthy.snipe.net/), but that’s more for your own amusement than their demise. Why is this _still_ not available for Firefox? > [@GrandWino](#): > > The Onion even started [http://www.clickhole.com](http://www.clickhole.com) to poke fun at the fad. Oh man, I love this! I laughed out loud twice at these headlines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-click-bait/702006.md?page=1)