Your Headline Defense

Run these checks before reacting to any headline:

• Read past the headline — at least to paragraph three, where the nuance usually lives
• Check for question marks — apply Betteridge's Law and assume the answer is "no"
• Watch for superlatives — "worst," "first ever," and "shocking" are almost always exaggerations
• Find the original source — headlines about research often misrepresent the actual findings
• Wait for corrections — the first version of a breaking story is the least reliable.