Misleading headlines are bad for the press and public

Screen grab from Facebook.

JEERS TO GMA News Online for a misleading headline on a report that suggested that Rappler failed to show up at the Department of Justice (DOJ), as the report tracked the submission by Rappler’s lawyers, their counter affidavit to the tax evasion case filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

GMA News Online posted a headline which was not in sync with the rest of the report: “Rappler CEO Maria Ressa no-show at DOJ for tax rap case” on Tuesday, April 24. It was updated the same day with a corrected headline: “Rappler lawyers submit counter affidavit to tax rap at DOJ.” When CMFR last checked, the URL link of the story still reflects the first headline.

Even with the correction, CMFR feels the case deserves this note to remind journalists that misleading headlines are not a minor failure. The headline provides, in brief, the information in the news report. It is also well known that there are many who do not read beyond the headlines or select only stories that they will read entirely.

Headline writing is a special skill. Headline writers have to read the report in its entirety to assure the accuracy of the headline and to make sure it captures the point of the story. But headlines are also designed to capture attention by highlighting what is colorful and interesting to the readers. It is not always easy to serve these two purposes. Both can be sidelined by a more sinister objective: to fix a false idea which may be part of political propaganda. A misleading headline fixes a false narrative in the public mind. In this case, it is presenting a false picture of Rappler, painting its response to these cases in a negative light.

A false headline is an affront to the reporter who wrote the story and to the public that the press is mandated to serve with good and accurate information. Editorial obligation plays a huge part in making sure that headlines are not only appealing; more important, these should be truthful and accurate.