Clickbaiting: Special Features of Advertising Communication

Abstract

Consideration of the growing influence of the flow of information on human awareness implies the interest of researchers in studying the means, techniques and procedures used in manipulative texts, which may include interactive advertising. Modern communication conditions related to the digital environment trigger the formation of a new structure and composition of the advertising text, which uses expressive, creative headlines, often created in violation of language norms, to draw attention to its content. The digital advertising field, the key feature of which is its interactivity, is characterized by a wide range of ways and means of promoting a product or brand characteristic of the Internet communication. This paper presents the results of the study of clickbait headlines, special elements of the advertising text, whose task is not so much to update the content, the core of the subsequent news opportunity, but to rouse the curiosity in the users, to provoke them into seeing certain Internet content. Clickbait headlines have substantial manipulative potential and are of practical interest. The data for the research was the data of the Oknews website (http://oksnews.me/news/back), where clickbaits are present in great numbers and variety, as contrasted with other websites or search engines that have their own advertising systems and moderate all advertisements.