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Sensational wording spreads faster than facts because it is designed to travel on the wings of fear and curiosity. However, facts remain the only reliable foundation for understanding our world. When we encounter a headline that seems designed to make our hearts race, the most effective response is to pause. By recognizing the mechanics of the “hook,” we can disarm the trap. We must look past the “BREAKING” labels and the truncated sentences to see what is actually being said. In the case of the North Korea-Trump headline, what was being said was nothing at all—it was merely a digital phantom, a collection of keywords arranged to trick the eye while providing no nourishment for the mind.
