Misleading Online Content: Recognizing Clickbait as "False News"

Abstract

Tabloid journalism is often criticized for its propensity for exaggeration, sensationalization, scare-mongering, and otherwise producing misleading and low quality news. As the news has moved online, a new form of tabloidization has emerged: ?clickbaiting.? ?Clickbait? refers to ?content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page? [?clickbait,? n.d.] and has been implicated in the rapid spread of rumor and misinformation online. This paper examines potential methods for the automatic detection of clickbait as a form of deception. Methods for recognizing both textual and non-textual clickbaiting cues are surveyed, leading to the suggestion that a hybrid approach may yield best results.