Misleading Political Headlines are Providing Misinformation to Many

Dewey Defeats Truman

In recent months, as I have read more and more political articles online and in the newspaper, I have realized that many political article headlines are misleading, bordering on untruthful. When comparing the body of these articles to the headlines it seemed evident to me that journalists are writing misleading headlines purposefully. Why would journalists do this? ... I decided to analyze how I view articles in newspapers to try and derive an answer to my question.

When reading the newspaper I typically skim over all the headlines in the paper and stop at a few articles that I want to read. This technique is probably performed by most people. By reading the article headlines I get a sense of the articles without having to read all the articles in the newspaper. After completing my quick examination I discovered the answer to why journalists write bias headlines. ... Many people only read the headline of an article.

Since many people read headlines and not the full articles, journalists can sway public opinion by merely writing a misleading headline (that often aligns with the journalist’s perspective). Of course, a journalist is supposed to be objective and leave their point of view at the door step, but unfortunately many journalists today have become egregiously bias in their reporting. To fortify my inference, I came across a study that proclaims 44% of Google news visitors scan article headlines without ever accessing (reading) the articles. I'm sure journalists know that statistic, and others alike, and that prompts them to write deceptive headlines thus fooling almost 50% of the population into believing something that is untrue. 

Operation: Blame the Tea Party

“A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.” - John Burroughs

Do I know anyone who constantly blames others? Hmm … oh yea, Barack Obama and the members of his Administration do that often. In fact, they lay blame to anyone who is of an opposing political party or they deem threatening while rarely, if ever, admitting their own failures. Mr. Obama even holds primetime press conferences with the primary purpose of telling the American Citizens who is to blame for the current state of America (by the way, it isn’t him). How can this Administration try to fix the problems of this country if they cannot admit that many of their own policies are failing? The answer is they can’t because they choose to ignore reality.

A great example of Obama blatantly ignoring reality is when he filled out his Census form in 2010 and checked the box “Black, African American, or Negro” and didn’t check the box labeled “white” despite the FACT that he is 50% white (or Caucasian). This should not only be considered ignoring reality, but lying on a Census form subject to a $500 fine. Don't hold your breath for that government deficit reducer. This example does not have any real direct effect on Americans, but should not be considered an insignificant occurrence. If Obama can ignore his race when it suits him, what else could he choose to ignore or lie about in order to push his agenda? A person who is in a powerful position and chooses to believe something not based on fact or reason, but based on what he wishes to be true is a dangerous person.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I think Barack Obama is a good person, but unfortunately his idealistic naivety is putting the United States in a precarious position. The modern day Roman Empire may be crumbling right before our eyes and Barack Obama is playing the violin for himself.