Betteridge and questionable headlines

Be warned. If a headline poses a question the answer will almost always be no.

That's not my rule. It's an observation that was first made by a tech hack called Ian Betteridge in 2009. Since then it has become enshrined in Internet history - Wikipedia to you and me - as Betteridge's law.

If a question mark appears at the end of a headline turn your scepticism alarm up to high. The story is almost certainly based on supposition at best, or oversold at worst.

The Twitter account @BetteridgesLaw is a delightful archivist of the form. Here some examples from the last couple of days.

In the shift from print-to-web fact checking and original sourcing have been a casualties for time pressed hacks and bloggers that don't necessarily know any better.

But a story in which the author is confident about a subject will almost always have an assertive headline.