Ethical Aspects of “Clickbait” in Health Communication

An Analysis of Headlines from news.google.com

Abstract

The aim of the study presented in this article was to determine the degree and scope of the use of clickbait in health-related article headlines available on news.google.com. The research was carried out using the method of content analysis between 18 and 25 July 2025. The research material consisted of 99 headlines published in Polish-language national, specialist, local, and institutional media outlets. The analytical tool employed was a categorization key template comprising six categories of clickbait features: information gap, sensationalism, promise, lists and numbers, question, and emotionality. The results indicate that more than half of the analyzed headlines contained at least one clickbait feature. The most frequently used technique was the information gap, while lists and numbers and promise also appeared regularly. The least common were sensationalism and emotionality. Strong clickbait, defined as headlines containing at least three such features, was found mainly in specialist medical portals. In contrast, the highest overall share of clickbait (regardless of the number of features) was observed in national mainstream media (67.9%). The most balanced and neutral, purely informational headlines were characteristic of institutional media. The study demonstrates that clickbait constitutes a significant element of contemporary health communication. Editorial practices appear to combine headline attractiveness (drawing audience attention) with ethical responsibility for information concerning human health. Nevertheless, the findings underscore the ongoing need to monitor the ethics of media content, particularly in the domain of medical information and health communication.