Most days, when you open a news page or scroll social media, there’s always some new big thing. Big bold words across the top of the screen yell out something new, like “Trump attempting to take over Greenland!” or “New virus without treatment discovered in India!” infest the front page news, stirring up a reaction from onlookers and baiting clicks from curious readers. News like this, better known as “sensationalism,” distorts public perception towards breaking news, and often elicits a feeling of fear, better known as “Fearmongering.” Is mainstream news truly like this?

Big news companies actively attempt to frame news in a bad light. Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics reveals that “…humans, on average, tend to pay greater attention to negative news stories than positive ones…news headlines with negative language are more likely to be clicked on, and links to negative news stories are more likely to be shared on social media.” This sort of engagement drives journalists and other news sources to format their titles this way, thus increasing their popularity and creating a positive feedback loop, infinitely creating more fearmongering articles. Additionally, demand to be “on the air” and to continuously be on the front page of websites has forced even regular news to be tagged as “breaking” news. 

However, opponents argue that “fearmongering” is a byproduct of how the system is set up and is entirely out of a journalist’s control. Journalists, like other professions, need to ensure they earn enough money to stay profitable and afloat in the capitalist system we live in. Thus, they are forced to resort to methods that have been proven to work, leading to an increase in the use of sensationalism. Nevertheless, the American Academy of Pediatrics still claims that fear is used as a primary tool of attention-grabbing for a large majority of news outlets, regardless of the pursuit of economic gain. The method of using something shocking to attract clicks is most likely intentional, and we all have fallen into its grasp.

The whole point of news is for people to know the news. Depending on tactics such as those mentioned, whether driven by economic gain or purely for engagement, is a concern the journalism industry must resolve. Responsible journalism should prioritize actual content rather than clicks and shock value. Then maybe, we wouldn’t be in fear of catastrophes that are extremely unlikely to happen.