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. The analytical tool employed was a categorization key template comprising six categories of clickbait features: “information gap,” “sensationalism,” “promise,” “numbers and lists,” “questions,” and “emotions.” According to the findings, more than half of the headlines contained at least one clickbait feature. The most frequently used technique was the “information gap,” while “numbers and lists” and “promise” also appeared regularly. The least common were “sensationalism” and “emotions.” 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.