Words like “slam” drive engagement. Journalists have to pay their bills, and journalistic institutions can only really get money from advertisement or from wealthy patrons who bankroll them as a way of spreading their ideology. For both, engagement and clicks are absolutely vital - advertisers need traffic so people see and click their adverts, ideologues need traffic so people see and internalise their ideology.

If you don’t like clickbait headlines, get involved with anti-capitalist direct action!