Persuasion and the news
Persuasion and the news: a chapter of the Thinking Clearly Book, with the mind traps and tricks that are worth knowing by name.
11 cards · Science
Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.
Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026
Sources: Statistical literacy (Royal Statistical Society), News literacy (News Literacy Project)
Preview
A headline written to make you click, not to inform
Show answerHide answer: A headline written to make you click, not to inform
Clickbait
Learn more: It trades on curiosity; the article often doesn't deliver what the headline promises.
Checking a site by seeing what others say about it
Show answerHide answer: Checking a site by seeing what others say about it
Lateral reading
Learn more: Professional fact-checkers leave a site quickly to check its reputation elsewhere.
Feeling you owe someone after a free gift
Show answerHide answer: Feeling you owe someone after a free gift
Reciprocity
Learn more: We feel we must repay favours, so a small gift can win a bigger yes.
"Only 2 left!" to make you buy now
Show answerHide answer: "Only 2 left!" to make you buy now
Scarcity
Learn more: Time limits and low stock push us to decide fast, before we think it through.
"Thousands of happy customers" to sway you
Show answerHide answer: "Thousands of happy customers" to sway you
Social proof
Learn more: Seeing others choose something makes it seem right, especially when we're unsure.
About this topic
Every day, headlines, ads and posts try to change what you think, buy or share. Some tricks are old: a free gift makes you feel you owe something, "only 2 left" rushes you, and "thousands of happy customers" makes a choice feel safe. Others are new, like deepfakes and feeds that only show you what you already agree with. This chapter names the tricks and the habits that beat them, from lateral reading to going back to the primary source.
This is a chapter of the Thinking Clearly Book. Each card asks one question, with a hint before you answer and a short reason after. Once you know most of this chapter, the next one starts arriving in your Daily Zap.
All 11 cards
A headline written to make you click, not to inform
Clickbait
Learn more: It trades on curiosity; the article often doesn't deliver what the headline promises.
Checking a site by seeing what others say about it
Lateral reading
Learn more: Professional fact-checkers leave a site quickly to check its reputation elsewhere.
Feeling you owe someone after a free gift
Reciprocity
Learn more: We feel we must repay favours, so a small gift can win a bigger yes.
"Only 2 left!" to make you buy now
Scarcity
Learn more: Time limits and low stock push us to decide fast, before we think it through.
"Thousands of happy customers" to sway you
Social proof
Learn more: Seeing others choose something makes it seem right, especially when we're unsure.
A fake video made with AI to look real
A deepfake
Learn more: AI can fake faces and voices; trust where a video comes from, not how real it looks.
Made-up news written as a joke, on purpose
Satire
Learn more: Satire is meant to be funny; trouble starts when people share it as if it were true.
False information spread on purpose to deceive
Disinformation
Learn more: Misinformation is false but shared by mistake; disinformation is meant to fool you.
The original document or first-hand account
A primary source
Learn more: Reports often oversimplify; going to the original shows what was really found.
Only hearing views that match your own online
Echo chamber
Learn more: When feeds show only what you like, other views start to look rare or extreme.
An ad designed to look like a news article
Native advertising
Learn more: Labels like "sponsored" or "paid partnership" show that someone paid for the story.
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