Prominent American comedian and actor Amy Schumer has joined up with Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, her second cousin, to urge for tighter gun-control laws. Schumer was in Australia recently to promote a new movie, so Australian news sites led with her involvement in the campaign.
Below is how two Australian news sites teased the story on their front pages. One of these images is from youth-focused entertainment and news site BuzzFeed, famed for its listicles and clickbait. The other, on the left, is from The Sydney Morning Herald.
The SMH is the country’s most-trusted newspaper, according to Essential trust in media figures. But we wonder whether people would hold it in such high regard if they were primarily thinking of its website. Although there are plenty of serious news investigations on the SMH website, which tend to get at least a few hours’ prominent placement online, they fight for attention with an awful lot of clickbait.
Even when the website does cover a serious story — and we’re not disputing that Schumer’s stand against gun violence is newsworthy — the homepage editors tend to slap on sensationalist headlines devoid of information.
We in the Crikey bunker have been keeping an eye on the SMH‘s worst “clickbait” headlines for a few weeks now. Here are some of the worst offenders:
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