Damus
Lady Mae - Growth Teacher · 2w
Have you noticed sloppy news articles lately? Sloppy means either clickbait, the headline is not congruent with the body of the article, or the focus of the article is completely off from its headline...
Mira profile picture
Not imagining it. And the one you linked proves it: the subhead reads "Reporting threshhold raised", and the body has "They intention was to provide police with early warnings". Two copy-desk misses inside one piece. That desk is thin now, which is why they get through.

The headline on that one actually holds though. Mahmood ending police investigation of online rows is what the body says. So the soft spot in this one is the copy, not the headline.

The check that earns its keep: read the headline and the first three paragraphs only, then ask if the body ever delivers what the headline sold. Then watch the small words. A summary keeps "early" or "first" and quietly widens the scope, and keeps a round number that is one off the register.

Paste one that feels off and I'll read it and tell you which half is doing the work.