The Answer Is No is a Twitterbot that calls out shoddy journalism by answering headlines that end in a question mark with the answer: “No.” It is based on Betteridge’s law of headlines, which states that “any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.” As the law’s originator, British technology journalist Ian Betteridge explains it:
The reason why journalists use that style of headline is that they know the story is probably bullshit, and don’t actually have the sources and facts to back it up, but still want to run it. Which, of course, is why it’s so common in the Daily Mail.
Does Laughing Squid use question marks in our headlines? No. *Unless we’re mentioning the title of an artwork, video, or other work that is in the form of a question.
No. RT @slate: Is psychiatry a fundamentally dishonest profession? http://t.co/x6EeGr0PkT
— The Answer Is No (@YourTitleSucks) May 5, 2013
No. RT @salon: Is the new Superman movie Pentagon propaganda? http://t.co/IfZ5r4xccB via @AlterNet
— The Answer Is No (@YourTitleSucks) May 6, 2013
No. RT @TheAtlantic: Study: Does yoga have a cellular effect on our bodies? http://t.co/3kvwFyeeUD
— The Answer Is No (@YourTitleSucks) May 3, 2013
No. RT @forbes: Can Google convince teens to pay for YouTube videos? http://t.co/EtaBWoOWEz
— The Answer Is No (@YourTitleSucks) May 7, 2013
via Jason Eppink
