What would you call this type of news: Worst Passwords of 2014? I guess we could still call it news, but I'm curious if there's a special term for this because it's a little bit different from the format of news we're used to seeing on television.
asked Jan 23, 2015 at 18:24
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2 Answers
Factoids would spring to mind.
It has a negative connotation, being that the 'facts' being reported may not have had quite so much research as a 'proper' reporting service would do, & may not necessarily be reliable.
As is said "Rumour can get twice round the world before Truth has its boots on."
answered Jan 23, 2015 at 18:33
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And the word should be used in the plural? Could you please put this word in context? Commented Jan 23, 2015 at 18:35
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sure - individual items are factoids, presented as news, so it would be a reasonable concatenation Commented Jan 23, 2015 at 18:39
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I just did some research and it looks like the term "factoid news" is in frequent use out there. Does that sound to you as a better fit? Commented Jan 23, 2015 at 19:38
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Some suggestions:
Since that particular video is fairly serious and its title and content match, you might just call it a clip or simply a video without referring to its informative content.
John, check out this video about passwords. I bet I could get into your email with one of these!
Articles or videos that include a list of things are often just referred to as lists, again without referring to the style or intent of the content.
John, check out this list of passwords. ...
As I'm sure you've noticed, many of the articles and videos available on the internet are misleadingly or alarmingly titled, so if this were titled something like, "Don't Register for Another Account before Reading This!!!" then it might be called click bait (or clickbait.) That would imply that the advertising revenue of the video was more important than its content's quality or usefulness.
Me: John, I saw this video that basically says we're a bunch of idiots who always choose the same passwords.
John: Jason, why are you even watching that clickbait?
Finally, if the content of the video was the main focus, you might call that content trivia (or as Tetsujin suggests, factoids.)
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'trivia would certainly fit - but trivia is supposed to actually be well-researched & actually true. [though as we know, that doesn't always happen;) [case to point - the game Trivial Pursuit had several intentionally incorrect facts, anticipating copy-cats stealing the q/a wholesale. When that in fact did happen, they [triv purs] lost the case.. Commented Jan 23, 2015 at 18:41