A series of headlines full of misinformation from a variety of news organizations.

Headlines, cognitive processing, and problematic information

Headlines matter. Publishers know it. Good headlines help with the understanding, reach, and impact of a story. Headlines frame articles, shaping the information in the article that follows, and alter reader comprehension. Headlines can induce positive priming effects in readers.1 Headlines are efficient at doing this. They play a significant role in readers’ memories, inferential…