clickbait

American  

[klik-beyt] / ˈklɪkˌbeɪt /

noun

1. a sensationalized headline or piece of text on the internet designed to entice people to follow a link to an article on another web page.

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adjective

1. noting or relating to such internet content.

   Clickbait articles contribute to the online visibility of the news website.

Usage

What does clickbait mean? Clickbait describes misleading internet content or shocking headline titles that aim to drive traffic to a website.

Etymology

Origin of clickbait

First recorded in 1995–2000; click ¹ (in the computer sense) + bait

Example Sentences

In a recent edition of his Substack newsletter, Bob Elliott, chief investment officer at investment firm Unlimited and former executive at hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, dismissed concerns about another carry-trade blowup as “clickbait fears.”

From MarketWatch

“Spam, fluff, clickbait, churnalism, kitsch — slop: These are all ways to describe mass-produced, low-quality content.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Magic Farm” Filmmaker Amalia Ulman’s rascally farce stars Chloë Sevigny and Alex Wolff as clickbait journalists who fly to Argentina to shoot a viral video about a singer in a bunny costume and wind up looking twice as ridiculous.

From Los Angeles Times

It is similar to its internet cousin clickbait, where a headline is used to lure a reader in to view an article or video.

From BBC

While Atlas is selling outrageous content as “clickbait central,” as West said, Atlas is also clearly aware that YouTube and other platforms will demonetize an episode if the bots catch certain semi-banned trigger words.

From Salon