The Importance of Reading The Stories

Sometimes, the headlines just don’t cut it. They can be entirely wrong, partially wrong, or incredibly distorted. And who can blame websites? They need to get pageviews and hits, so the more controversial the headline, the better. In some cases, however, the website goes a bit too far and clearly twists the intended message.

Take the following, for example (I’m clearly leaving the url and headline out for now so you can read the story first). These are quotes said by Sinisa Mihajlovic, the coach of Fiorentina, about the rumored sale of Riccardo Montolivo:

“Who wouldn’t want Montolivo? He has proved himself to be a great player and whatever decision he makes, I will respect it. If Montolivo does leave, then I’m sure he will be adequately replaced. I have faith in our director of sport Pantaleo Corvino to bring in the best alternative.”

The keyword here: “IF”. Thus Miha is simply commenting upon the rumor that Riccardo may be leaving in the summer. The article makes this seem quite obvious- there’s no certain words here, such as “definitely” or “certainly”.

Yet, what was the headline?

Mihajlovic accepts Montolivo exit

FootballItalia is hardly the only site to do this. And Monto could very well leave this summer. It’s been heavily rumored for some time now and it seems like he probably will go. Yet the headline makes it seem as if Miha stated that Monto will go and Fiorentina have acknowledged this, which clearly isn’t true.

So in summary, be sure to always read the full story. The headlines, unlike cake, may well be a lie.

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Category: Serie A