2. Accuracy & Representation (4 marks)
Was the headline in Question #1 an accurate representation of the article content?
a) Explain your reasoning clearly
b) Reference course discussion on misleading vs effective headlines
Now that I have effectively analyzed this article’s headlines and why I felt that it was so effective, I have also looked through the article’s content in full. After having done this, I can confirm that yes, the article;’s headline was in fact an accurate representation of the content being provided. After having read the headline, I believed that the headline was aiming to promise me (the reader) that this would be a very lighthearted and funny article that was in a list format with images showcasing the “dumb pictures”. When I clicked on the article and went through it I immediately was ankle to take notice of the fact that the content was delivering exactly these promises through showcasing a total of 33 different funny images that seemed accidental yet also very well timed out all at the same time. Therefore, I found that the actual content and structure of this article was very much an accurate reflection of what the headline was promising to me.
I think that this accurate representation of this article through the headline was so important because misleading headlines can have a very negative overall impact on a website/company like Buzzfeed in regard to their credibility among users. When users do not perceive a source as being credible for providing the information/content in which they claim they will provide, that source/company/website will generally see a large decrease in the amount of people actually consuming the content which they produce. What indicates a misleading headline to me is usually going to be it overpromising content that it does not deliver, sparking my curiosity through a curiosity gap but not fulfilling it and just way over exaggerating whatever it is that the content itself is talking about. On the other hand, an effective headline like this one from Buzzfeed is able to accurately signal to readers that this content is funny, lighthearted and easy to read due to its simple list format and bold headings. This headline also reduces any uncertainty that readers such as myself might have had in regard to whether or not this content is actually worth our time which makes it effective as opposed to misleading and above all this headline truly delivered exactly what it said it would in terms of content. For example, number 17 appeared to be a picture of a fish on a train with the caption “A truly embarrassing moment”, this caption and image is simple, funny and easily readable which displays how this article’s content very clearly fulfils the headline’s promises. Overall, this headline was representative of the article’s actual content in a very effective manner that was not misleading at all.
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