Last but not least: Idiot baiting

The good news is that clickbaiting - at least in its silliest form - seems to be on the decline. Tweets, posts and titles that are all too obviously aimed at persuading people to click at all costs are now frowned upon by many internet users. "This adorable kitten just wanted to drink its milk in peace - you won't believe the heart-warming scene that unfolded with the neighbor's dog Rex!". If you have interesting (and your own...) content to offer, people usually click even if they receive a normal short description of the link content.

The bad news is that clickbaiting is far from being a thing of the past. This was demonstrated once again on Tuesday evening, when the TV guide TV Movie tried a particularly perfidious way to force the coveted traffic. "One of these TV presenters has to retire due to CANCER DISEASE". The choices for the happy cancer guessing game were: Stefan Raab, Roger Willemsen, Günther Jauch and Joko Winterscheidt.

The shitstorm came free with the funny riddle, so to speak. TV Movie rowed back, deleted the post and apologized via Facebook:

...only to apologize again the next day to God and the world - and above all to Roger Willemsen.

By the way, TV Movie has a tradition of cheerful guesswork, as Bildblog.com using countless examples. Which Harry Potter star is in a wheelchair? Which actor is suspected of having abused a woman? Which Hollywood star has just received VERY sad news? Which series creator was arrested in connection with child pornography? As you can see, the "Social Media Standards" from Bauer Xcel Media Germany do their job perfectly. But there's definitely nothing about clickbaiting, because the clickbaiting on the TV movie profile continues unabashedly. In the meantime, users have taken it upon themselves to write the answer to the "riddles" in the comments below - so that even those who are interested don't have to click. (hae)