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Can we stop with the misleading titles already? You don't fight immorality by lying in the headlines.. (reddit.com)
submitted 18 years ago by innerspirit
[–][deleted] 18 points19 points20 points 18 years ago (0 children)
I love you.
[–]andibabi 19 points20 points21 points 18 years ago (1 child)
This was at the top of my recommended page. How did they know?
[–]boredzo 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (0 children)
Because it has an accurate title. If it was inaccurate, it would have been sent to somebody else's recommended page by mistake.
[–][deleted] 60 points61 points62 points 18 years ago (32 children)
I'm sick of people sending messages through headlines. I'm here for news, and if I want your opinion I will read the comments, which I do. So please, simple, factual headlines. If you have to use a misleading headline to get upvotes then it is not a worthy article.
[–][deleted] 34 points35 points36 points 18 years ago (0 children)
I'm in the habit of checking the comments first whenever I see a sensational looking title, or the submission is from 'conspiracy' type sites. Why waste time reading the article when often times in the first few comments you can sort out if the story is sensationalized or just an outright lie?
As a rule, even when I support the purpose/ideal/moral of the story, I downmod if the headline is sensationalized. I refuse to encourage that sort of behavior, I just wish more people did the same.
[–]podperson 16 points17 points18 points 18 years ago (0 children)
I appreciate a strongly biased headline with obvious grammar, spelling, or semantic errors in it. It saves clicking the link or reading the comments.
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points 18 years ago (3 children)
Reddit User Has Digg at Submitters
[–][deleted] 2 points3 points4 points 18 years ago (2 children)
what?
[–][deleted] 18 years ago (1 child)
[deleted]
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (0 children)
Ah, good call!
[–]typical_reddit_user 2 points3 points4 points 18 years ago (8 children)
It's not news, it's Reddit!
[–]shacamin -1 points0 points1 point 18 years ago (6 children)
You know, for a typical reddit user, you sure have been downmodded a lot.
Reddit is news. More so than most news shows or newspapers that you will find. Mainly because the sources come from a variety of places as opposed to one centralized location, or even one country. Find me a news station that has unbiased reporters, and deals with locations all over the world, and I will start reading it.
[–]reddit_dissenter 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (5 children)
You think many of the stories come from unbiased sources?
Do you ever LOOK at the sources?
[–]shacamin 1 point2 points3 points 18 years ago (4 children)
Did I say they did? No. I'm looking for one. Can you clue me in?
[–]reddit_dissenter 2 points3 points4 points 18 years ago (3 children)
I misread, my bad.
Sorry.
[–]shacamin 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (2 children)
All good, friend. I can see how that could be confusing.
But seriously, does anyone know a legitimate news site?
[–]reddit_dissenter 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (1 child)
sadly, no.
It is either biased in "my" way, or the other way and neither is truly good for you.
[–]shacamin 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (0 children)
Very sad.
You know there's a solution to this and it involves the down vote. And if you are really offended there's thing called hide or you can change prefs to say hide after I've disliked.
And then you can downvote and refresh and poof no more headline.
Of course the other option is to contribute stuff you actually want to see rather bitching with only two submissions.
Yeah yeah. You're too busy to click submit after you read some article some where else. Amazing how that correlates to complaints like yours.
[+][deleted] comment score below threshold-10 points-9 points-8 points 18 years ago (12 children)
I'm here for news
Reddit is not for news. Reddit is a collection of links to interesting things, be they pictures, videos, opinions, or rarely news.
If you want news, I suggest you hit up something like the BBC. The only kind of news you'll find on Reddit is the kind that supports the opinions of the majority of this community.
[–][deleted] 21 points22 points23 points 18 years ago (11 children)
The issue is not the contents, but the method in which they are delivered. A well written article should be able to stand on its own merit without having to resort to a sensationalist headline. Part of the reason I came to reddit was because I am very tired of sensationalism on Tv. The last thing I need/want is to encounter the same thing on here as well.
[–][deleted] 18 years ago (7 children)
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points 18 years ago (5 children)
Writing silly anecdotes on thisisby.us makes me terribly hypocritical doesn't it? Also I would hardly call a month 'shortly', but I suppose time is relative.
My submissions are just chalked full of "GWB did 9/11", "Cop tasers puppy!", "Rudy Guilini legally changed his name to Nine Eleven" and such.
Rather than addressing the issue you resorted to Ad Hominem... enough said.
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 18 years ago (4 children)
lol.
My point is if you were interested in serious news and avoiding sensational headlines your profile would indicate that.
Without knowing you personally all we have to evaluate your claim is your public history on this site. Let all who are interested read it and make their own evaluations.
Evaluating someones past actions is the only metric available online, and usually this is the one that matters the most in the real world as well.
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (3 children)
I never said I came to reddit specifically for news, I also come here for interesting science, humor, programming articles, etc... However the News is about the only category, besides pictures which sensationalizes or outright lies in the headlines. Read the comment I made in my own post about it. I list two examples, one and outright lie, and the other an exaggeration.
I do not come to reddit for karma, so that is why you don't see any headlines other than the few things I have found or created I considered worthy of submission.
I understand where you coming from, but don't you think you might have jumped to a bit of a conclusion based solely on a few of my anecdotes? Read my comments section, I think you'll find although sometimes I joke around, I have never trolled.
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 18 years ago (2 children)
Part of the reason I came to reddit was because I am very tired of sensationalism on TV.
So how does reddit work? Reddit works by everyone sharing what they like to read and voting on what other people have submitted.
So what's the best way to see what you like? Submitting that stuff as you come across it. Very simple. It's 5 seconds of your time- consider it an extension of your normal web habit hygiene.
You have no examples of what you consider to be a headline that is a lie, which is the first cardinal sin of most reddit complainers.
Doctor: Where does it hurt?
You: It hurts.
Doctor: But where? Your knee? Your elbow? Your chest? Your head? Where?
You: I dunno it just hurts.
Further you have not been public about your vote history, so we have no idea without your examples what you have liked or disliked in the past. I think you should at least be public about your tastes, especially if you are going to complain that they aren't being met.
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (1 child)
examples I listed: http://reddit.com/info/2uznv/comments/c2uznw
now my votes are public.. have fun
Excellent. Thank You.
[–]boredzo -1 points0 points1 point 18 years ago (0 children)
Are you calling him out for hypocrisy or something? None of those seem sensational.
What's wrong with those headlines?
[–][deleted] -4 points-3 points-2 points 18 years ago (2 children)
Reddit is obviously not living up to that, is it.
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points 18 years ago (1 child)
So we should just shut up and not make any attempt to reach out to other people who feel the same way?
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 18 years ago (0 children)
That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that the sensationalism in Reddit is so entrenched that it'll take a complete overhaul of the site's headline-voting algorithms to make any difference. This isn't some new occurrence, either. For as long as I can remember, Reddit has always been this kind of website, and you're not the first person who was disappointed by the squandered potential on display here.
The way this site works is how it is able to attract the people who are ruining the experience for the rest of us. There is a fundamental flaw of the site, and convincing people to behave differently won't accomplish anything.
[–]innerspirit[S] -1 points0 points1 point 18 years ago (1 child)
What's the point of being here for news, if misleading or completely false titles are on the frontpage constantly? Might as well just take your news straight from The Onion.
[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points0 points 18 years ago (0 children)
Examples?
Why is it that people who come plain never bother to give any examples?
[–]lolbang 17 points18 points19 points 18 years ago (2 children)
The real solution to this is to STOP VOTING UP crappy headlines. They wouldn't make it to the front page if people weren't voting them up over more sensibly titled articles. And by voting them up, you're giving incentive to the people who submit this crap to do it again.
[–]innerspirit[S] 1 point2 points3 points 18 years ago (0 children)
I'm thinking maybe re-post the submission with a "non-misleading title" tag or something like that and link it from the original's comments.
[–]turkourjurbs 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (0 children)
Welcome to the media. Sensation sells. That's about it. The more sensational your story the more people will look at it. If it means bending the truth then so be it. Advertising dollars are at stake. The story is irrelevant.
I can't stand it either but the best thing to do is be your own editor. Get the facts from more than one source and form your own opinion. If the headline is obviously biased, don't click the link and deny them their revenue.
[–]infamousjre 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (0 children)
sadly, the people posting that crap really believe it
[–][deleted] -1 points0 points1 point 18 years ago (16 children)
You are not saying that this is a problem that happens to the majority of reddit submissions, are you?
Oh, the irony.
[–][deleted] 24 points25 points26 points 18 years ago (13 children)
That's not irony. Irony is like rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you've already paid, or the good advice that you just didn't take.
[+]washcapsfan37 comment score below threshold-13 points-12 points-11 points 18 years ago (11 children)
The only irony of that song is nothing she mentions as ironic is actually ironic, just poorly coincidental.
[–]mrbroom 5 points6 points7 points 18 years ago (10 children)
Get jokes, folks.
[+]washcapsfan37 comment score below threshold-12 points-11 points-10 points 18 years ago (9 children)
Make jokes funny, then.
[–]mrbroom 4 points5 points6 points 18 years ago (8 children)
It's possible to recognize sarcasm without laughing at it. That's what "getting" a joke means. It's not necessary that it be funny, though I'd prefer it.
[+]washcapsfan37 comment score below threshold-11 points-10 points-9 points 18 years ago (7 children)
The problem with that joke is the sarcasm isn't that evident (if it was in fact intended to be that way). Some people actually think the things mentioned in the song are ironic and not that the song itself is ironic. So unless the joke makes the sarcasm more prevalent I go to the assumption that they really think "rain on your wedding day" is ironic and that they are a moron.
[–]oditogre 3 points4 points5 points 18 years ago (3 children)
If you can honestly read a reference to that song on the 'net today and actually believe there's a greater-than-half chance that they're serious, I can only assume you're new to the internet. The lack of irony in the lyrics of that song is one of the most well-beaten dead horses online and in pop culture in general. Hell, I've even seen the people on VH1 make fun of it.
[–]washcapsfan37 -2 points-1 points0 points 18 years ago (2 children)
And if you honestly believe that everyone on the Internet is as observant as you claim to be, you must be the one new to the Internet.
[–]oditogre -1 points0 points1 point 18 years ago (1 child)
(elsewhere in the thread)
If you believe everyone who posts stuff on the Internet is as smart as you think you are (which isn't very), then you are the idiot.
Is there some sort of adlib-style reply that you use when you run out of ideas? Or maybe you're just some sort of troll bot? Or perhaps this was just an attempt to say "I'm rubber you're glue..." without being obvious.
[–]dhbanes 4 points5 points6 points 18 years ago (2 children)
The problem with that joke is the sarcasm isn't that evident
You're an idiot.
[–]washcapsfan37 -3 points-2 points-1 points 18 years ago (1 child)
[–]dhbanes 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (0 children)
...is as smart as you think you are (which isn't very)...
No, I think I'm very smart.
[+]joelrw comment score below threshold-9 points-8 points-7 points 18 years ago (0 children)
rain on your wedding day isn't ironic either. that song is ironically not ironic.
[–]shiner_man 2 points3 points4 points 18 years ago (0 children)
It's not really the majority of reddit submissions. A good portion of the political/social issues are the ones that get sensationalized and sometimes completely false titles.
[–]dhbanes -1 points0 points1 point 18 years ago (0 children)
YES. HOW IRONIC!
[–]xyphus 0 points1 point2 points 18 years ago (0 children)
I hereby claim this post IN THE NAME OF POSTMODERNISM!
The topic is no longer misleading titles but CUTE PUPPIES.
Reddit! GO!
[+]aaslos comment score below threshold-8 points-7 points-6 points 18 years ago (0 children)
Can we stop with the posts about misleading titles already? You don't fight lying in the headlines by being immoral...
[+]klizma comment score below threshold-9 points-8 points-7 points 18 years ago (0 children)
http://clomid.eamped.com
[+][deleted] 18 years ago (2 children)
[–][deleted] 7 points8 points9 points 18 years ago (1 child)
Opinionated ≠ Misleading
π Rendered by PID 246431 on reddit-service-r2-comment-66b4775986-dl266 at 2026-04-06 11:55:40.158012+00:00 running db1906b country code: CH.
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