Headlines and Clickbaiting

PravdaReport takes clickbaiting very seriously: it is a very harsh form of offence to our readers. A clickbaiting headline or subheadline is a violation of PravdaReport policy and leads to the refusal of the proposed news article and to the suspension/exclusion of the Pravdadist. Pravdadists and Reviewers commit to the following rules:

1. Never fake headlines and subheadline.

If an article contains a fake or misleading headline or subheadline, PravdaReport considers the entire article as fake news, regardless of the validity of the article's overall content. In PravdaReport' publication, including fake or misleading headlines or subheadlines is never acceptable: Reviewers will take action to reject or edit the specific content accordingly.

2. Make sure that the headline gives ALL the key information contained in the article's content.

Readers must understand the most important information about an article's content before even clicking on the article itself. Catchy titles or titles with slight gaps in information are acceptable, but again, ALL the key information of the article's content must be clearly presented in its title.

3. Start the article with the most important keyword.

The best article headlines include, at the very beginning, the article's keyword(s) (whatever word(s) best summarize the article's content). Including keywords is beneficial on two levels: it helps readers gain more value from PravdaReport' platform and Pravda' content, and it helps Pravda's by potentially increasing their article's SEO standing.

4. Never use "Calls to Action" in the headlines or subheadlines.

It is unacceptable to use a "call to action" in the headline or subheadlines. A "call to action" refers to any attempt to draw attention to an article by blatantly asking readers to engage with the content (e.g. "Click here to read this article" or "Read this article now to learn about the economy"). If an article contains video content (e.g. embedded from YouTube), it is acceptable to include the word "(Video)" or similar, provided that the Blaster additionally includes information about the article's content.

5. Be cautious in including questions within the headlines or subheadlines (usually this leads to clickbaiting)

It is unacceptable to use a question as an article's headline when the answer to the question is already known and then explained in the news content following the headline.

It may be acceptable to use a questions as a part of an article's headline when the question itself is genuine and the answer is not known yet. However, a title cannot finish with the question mark.

6. Be cautious with rumours in the headlines (usually this leads to clickbaiting).

It is unacceptable to promote spoilers in the headline, unless it is clearly and prominently stated that it is a spoiler at the beginning of the headline

7. Give the proper context for events tied to a location or a city.

If a news is related to a specific location/city, always add the location/city at the beginning of the headline.

8. Tell the reader if you are giving information about streaming.

It is unacceptable to promote information about streaming in the headline, unless it is clearly and prominently stated that it is a "INFO STREAMING" at the beginning of the headline.

Note: This kind of content is acceptable only when it gives proper and useful information about the actual streaming of the event.

9. Don't use dates in headlines, unless it is vital to do so.

Generally speaking, it is unacceptable to use dates in headlines (although very few exceptions may exist). The news are related to the day they are published.

10. Never use sensationalist or alarming words in the title or subtitle.

It is unacceptable to include in a title rhetoric or language that distorts, exaggerates, or modifies the article's reality. Language that is purposefully meant to add shock value is also unacceptable. Including such language in an article's title is grounds for a Reviewer to reject the entire article.