In the case of an earthquake, it’s reasonable to expect that damage and injuries will be inevitable. This may be a case of the headline being written with the expectation that the text of the article will be updated once reports of damage and injuries come in. I don’t quite see this as fake news. But I do find the practice of misleading headlines in general to be very dubious practice.
There should perhaps be a code of conduct that regulates that the headline must correlate to the article text. Is there any organisation that monitors the press and produces reports that show how well each press outlet follows the regulations?

Posted by: SayLess | Jul 6 2019 9:53 utc | 3

Posted by: SayLess | Jul 6 2019 9:53 utc | 3
“There should perhaps be a code of conduct…”
There is a journalistic code, at least informally (many publications and groups of publications have formal codes), and it’s just empty words, just for show, which they deliberately and systematically violate.
Same with the Constitution, same with the Hippocratic oath (“do no harm”, right), same with Popper’s myth of the “scientific method”, same with the ethical codes of every professional body, same with the mission statements of almost all system NGOs, and so on.

Posted by: Russ | Jul 6 2019 10:47 utc | 5

People defending this trash. No, misleading headlines aren’t dubious practice. They are lies. For example, a headline saying “Iran Violates Treaty” when said treaty has long since been violated by the other participants, isn’t dubious. It’s a lie. It ‘s a vicious, warmongering lie. And that kind of garbage is standard.

Posted by: paul | Jul 6 2019 11:05 utc | 7

Sorry, it was yesterday evening in the USA.

Posted by: Ralph | Jul 6 2019 11:39 utc | 9

Title: Quake causes damage
Subtitle: … but there are no immediate report of damage
??? Oh, I get it. It’s from Washington Compost – one of the shining American presstitute jewels ….

Posted by: Nathan | Jul 6 2019 12:39 utc | 11

As somebody led into in #1, journalists write what they see and learn, headline writers try to sell newspapers to sustain higher advertising rates. Journalists are in the news business, headline reporters in the entertainment business. (The two professions are capable of agreeing when it comes to wars and and stuff like that.)

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 6 2019 13:10 utc | 13

THE ALGORITHMS BEHIND THE HEADLINES
With the introduction of machine-written news, the automation of journalism has entered a new phase. Algorithms can now automatically generate news stories on the basis of statistical information and a set of stock phrases, without interference from human journalists. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512786.2012.667268?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Posted by: O | Jul 6 2019 13:20 utc | 15

Thought I post this here, as it is in part earthquake related and some might say fake news related as well, so it somehow fits the topic.
If you are interested in space weather, earthquake prediction, climate change, science and more, you might want to look at spaceweathernews.com and view the daily space weather videos. 5mins plus/minus
Ben Davidsons website and youtube channel gave me lots to think about in the last few months. I kind of love it when my convictions are challanged and some of you might like that as well. Hope he is wrong about some things he sees coming.

Posted by: senf | Jul 6 2019 13:35 utc | 17

Pending action regarding MH17:
On July 1, Russian sources reported that the Ukrainian SBU (CIA/FBI equivalent) was preparing to release an ‘information bomb’ on MH17.
https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/rusvesna.su/news/1561986399
On July 5, they also reported that the SBU had kidnapped a separatist from Sneznoe by knocking him out with a blow to the head, drugging him and moving to a safehouse in a wheelchair and then on to Kiev, presumably the SBU/CIA headquarters. The man was involved in the Novorossian air defense in 2014.
https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/rusvesna.su/news/1562273690
My guess is the SBU will beat a confession out of him, in which he admits that ‘it was the Russians that done it’. This will be publicised within a week or so.

Posted by: Yonatan | Jul 6 2019 13:44 utc | 19

OR any headline that includes Iran Threatens ….
It doesn’t matter what the Iranians actually said or what was done to them, just say ‘Iran threatens’ and they will be portrayed as aggressors. FUKUS illegally seizes an Iranian tanker, ONE Iranian legislator says they should retaliate in kind and headlines reduce this to ‘Iran threatens British shipping … ‘.
Trump threatens Iran with total destruction and the headlines read …
“President Trump says he will ‘obliterate’ Iran if the country attacks anything American”
1. Threaten changed to ‘says’
2. It includes exculpatory (as best the can) wording to make it soften threat. ‘If Iran attacks’, so Iran still sounds like the aggressor.
And the MSM hates Trump.

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Jul 6 2019 14:14 utc | 21

@15 O
For anyone who is interested, the full article (PDF) is available HERE

Posted by: Daniel | Jul 6 2019 14:28 utc | 23

@DB 21
…. mind it is UK/US getting the blame for Grace 1, but the law being acted on is EU. I know, US is to blame for EU law also…? EU didn’t really mean those laws/they were only supposed to be applied at EU discretion …? OK, it was UK that acted. EU invites/provides confusion as far as national responsibility is concerned, it provides an excuse but isn’t a proper executive, is not a country that another can deal with properly.
Anyway, you also have Happiness 1 with a million barrels being “held hostage” off Jeddah now, some of the Saudi press are rubbing that in on Iran.

Posted by: gzon | Jul 6 2019 14:48 utc | 25

How about ‘massive nuclear explosions in USA not many dead’ and ‘who cares anyway’ it wasn’t my fault I couldn’t do enything to stop it, so why the hell should I care!!
The above, as a headline could fairly be described as lacking in truth and empathy. And yet it is what the western headlines do on a daily bases ! If they can even be bothered to report it.
And now onto the latest from the tennis.
Normalisation de-humanisation.

Posted by: Mark2 | Jul 6 2019 15:13 utc | 27

More famously, an algorithm called Quakebot published a story about a 2014 California earthquake on The Los Angeles Times website within three minutes after the shaking had stopped.[4][5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_journalism#cite_note-:1-4
What is the Quakebot and how does it work?
https://www.latimes.com/la-me-quakebot-faq-20190517-story.html

Posted by: O | Jul 6 2019 15:25 utc | 29

USGS page

Posted by: the pessimist | Jul 6 2019 15:25 utc | 31

RR @ 28: Yep, you’re right about the manifest awareness of “Fake News” and DJT. He is the absolute king of Fake News. His whole persona is fake….

Posted by: ben | Jul 6 2019 15:32 utc | 33

gzon, the U.K’s seizure of the Iranian tanker heading for Syria was a blatant act of piracy. The invocation of the EU sanctions is the figleaf meant to make it sound legitimate. They are citing resolution EU_36_2012, I started reading it but couldn’t get past the insufferable moralizing.
1. Okay, let’s say that oil was going to an ‘entity’ under EU sanction, the question is to whom does this EU statute apply? It obviously applies to EU member states but neither Iran or Syria are EU member states so this would not give them the authority to forbid such traffic.
2. If the tanker was transiting through EU territorial waters, it has the right of innocent passage, you cannot enter the Mediterranean without entering Spanish waters. Nothing gives them the right to stop the tanker.
3. Even if the tanker was stopped and getting supplies off shore, the statute might forbid Gibraltar or Spain from resupplying the ship but not in seizing the cargo. Even if the statute tried to claim the cargo as illegal contraband this would be in violation of the Geneva Conventions which requires the humane treatment of the civilian population and would exclude basic commodities such as food, medicine, and energy from that list. In other words, claiming heroin or weapons as contraband, fine, but not oil.
In all of the legal citations, all they blather about is how the oil was destined for an ‘illegal refiner’ they totally ignore all of these other points.

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Jul 6 2019 16:02 utc | 35

speaking of piracy here is an example of fake banking..
http://www.unz.com/mhudson/the-world-bank-and-imf-2019/
explains one leg of economic zionism..

Posted by: snake | Jul 6 2019 16:32 utc | 37

@ gzon 35
I did not help you go OT. . . .did….not
I was only emphasizing the wrongful use of the word “regime.”
You helped yourself.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 6 2019 16:43 utc | 39

The problem with headlines these days is they are designed to be of significance in themselves and often being misleading. This is a complete bastardisation of their original intent which was to draw the reader in to read the body text of the article for both facts and context of the written piece

Posted by: m | Jul 6 2019 17:00 utc | 41

Anyone who knows anything about earthquake geology knows that the number of earthquakes that are detected by seismometers is hundreds to thousands of times those felt by a human being. Since most people do not know that the Richter scale is logarithmic rather than linear, such ratings are poor click bait. The likelihood of a earthquake that can be felt by a human being causing no damage is almost impossible. What does it take to knock something fragile off a table or shelf?

Posted by: Vonu | Jul 6 2019 17:11 utc | 43

The headline is more revealing that one could ever think. Actually, the entirety of the present situation in regards to ‘informing the electorate’ is so out of whack, that one can only surmise it having been designed this way.
What these contradicting headlines do to Your mind is amazing. No need to read the article, correct? That is the idea. Those publishing these headlines are aware that the average attention span will not allow to read the article and subsequently to find out it’s nonsense, or contradicting itself.
The headline sticks. The old Nazi Bernays knew that of course very well. Human psyche – can be manipulated to any extend. The task is to incapacitate the ability of the readers to tell the chaff from the wheat. This is the same reason twatter only allows for headline like use of words.
But now to the oddities in this case.
For an amazing long time, the only earthquake response was visible on USGS. None of the other earthquake monitor networks showed anything at all. Not the 6.4 Mag and also the 7.1 Mag. They were exclusively on the USGS map. Emphasis on ‘exclusively’. One of the best global monitors is the IRIS network and there was nothing – until someone must have told them to put them up. There are grave discrepancies in the appearance of these quakes in networks other than USGS. Why?
Then, there was not one word – not a single one – that the earthquake swarm originated in an off limits military area. The ‘US NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER CHINA LAKE’. Not once was this fact mentioned. Why not? It’s obvious to anybody with access to a map. Why is nobody talking about the epicenter being in a military exclusion zone? Not relevant? Right.
Oddly though, when North Korea – or others at that – detonate a nuclear device, the US knows it immediately. Why? B/C of the earthquake that is generated. Like the ones under the two infamous towers. Nobody ever talked about these as well. But seismometers do not lie. They record any strong enough signal. Like the seismic fingerprint of a large rock slide.
If there is no evidence to the contrary, the US military tested one of the spanking brand new nukes the orange Donald bragged about. On the 4th of July. What could have gone wrong? Right, nothing. Alas, any large ordinance detonated in an seismically sensitive area will garner the same results – earthquake swarms all over the place.
So, the headline is intentionally misleading to make it impossible to know what happened. That is the entire idea. That’s saying something without saying anything at all.
Buckle up, the ride has almost reached its peak. It will soon go down faster than anyone could like.

Posted by: nottheonly1 | Jul 6 2019 17:24 utc | 45

Casual reader: “Well, it MUST be true if the AP ran it…”

Posted by: T Mike | Jul 6 2019 17:46 utc | 47

gzon @38
EU 36/2012
Find the section that authorizes the EU to physically seize the Iranian oil tanker heading for Syria instead of speaking in generalities. In every place where I read ‘prohibit’ it was referring to member states of the EU. The onus is on them (or you) to cite the clause and not flash it like a badge https://www.ukpandi.com/fileadmin/uploads/uk-pi/Documents/Legal_sources/CouncilRegulation_EU_36_2012.pdf
The EU does not supersede international law
EU regulations cannot trump international law in regard to international waters or the Geneva Conventions, otherwise I could cite ‘humanitarian grounds’ to block my neighbors driveway and prevent grocery deliveries because I don’t like the way he raises his children, or Iran can simply pass a statute that authorizes them to ‘seize’ British naval vessels. The entire point of international law is to prevent nations from coming up with their own rules and arbitrarily seizing each other’s property while in transit.

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Jul 6 2019 19:47 utc | 49

You’re probably the only media outlet continuing the seriously investigate the Boeing criminality, well done for sticking to a story and carving your own path. Too much news gets swept under the rug when it should be further explored.

Posted by: Blooming Barricade | Jul 6 2019 21:39 utc | 51

https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=earthquake%20iran%20iraq%20border
once again i post that Iraq and Iran had a similar volcano event on the Iraq and Iran border in 2007..
Iran was at a loss to explain where it came from.. and Iraqi officials looked blanked out..
makes me wonder what caused both events.

Posted by: snake | Jul 6 2019 22:54 utc | 53

OT but Science Related–
I rarely ever provide a link to Neven’s Outstanding Arctic Sea Ice Blog, but as he notes, June was “one hell of a month.” The prognosis for the remaining melt season isn’t good. For those wanting to investigate further, the Arctic Sea Ice Forum looks at the entire cryosphere and breaks it into specific regions, like Greenland, which is my area of interest. So, explore and learn. Oh, Anchorage, Alaska had its first ever 90F degree day in its history yesterday!

Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 7 2019 0:25 utc | 55

@ Pft 55
The headline and text are both correct. . .These are not mutually exclusive.
Yes they are mutually exclusive. They cannot both occur at the same time, no reports of them yet they happened, and saying the headline is based on statistics doen’t make it right. Those are two different info-bits. We expect that the headline to be consistent with the account, just as we expect the account to be consistent. The headline didn’t say “6.9 quakes in populated areas always cause damage and injuries” and the report author didn’t say it.
“Latest Southern California quake probably caused damage, injuries” might be truthful, but who expects to see headlines with probabilities. We expect news, not educated guesses. Therefore as b said it’s fake news.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 7 2019 0:53 utc | 57

@nottheonly1 #45
Pretty strong allegation – that the US violated a number of treaties in conducting a nuclear test.
Particularly since there are sensors all over the world looking for exactly such events operated by the CTBTO.

Posted by: c1ue | Jul 7 2019 1:34 utc | 59

Don Bacon@56
I wont belabor the point, but the headline turned out to be correct. Fake or prophetic? If only all fake news turned out to be so truthful
In all fairness the headline writers are not the same people who write the articles. They are basically click bait. I don’t care for it either, but this probably isn’t the best example of fake news. Slow news week I guess.

Posted by: Pft | Jul 7 2019 2:14 utc | 61

karlof1 @ 51
We should keep in mind that comparisons of this kind are extremely limited in modern mans knowledge of that area. We have nothing in reports of ancient seafarers records of the Northern Passage. It is nice that people are now making observations. The Piri Reis map is one interesting record of the past but it may have been an object of cartographers confusion. These types of maps were high level intelligence of the era.
We are still stuck on Columbus discovered America. Modern climate arrogance is just as amazing. The Earth’s record is one of wild temperature shifts over the last 500 million years.

Posted by: dltravers | Jul 7 2019 2:39 utc | 63

@nottheonly1 #61
INF is very different than CTBP or NPT. For one thing, know a handful of nations can even contemplate intermediate range nukes.
More importantly, the CTPBC is an international organization headquartered in Vienna.
A US test not detected/reported by them, it Russia or China is a big thing.
Once again, you are making a bold statement, which generally requires a strong set of evidence.

Posted by: C1ue | Jul 7 2019 4:41 utc | 65

Indeed, the habit of headlines not just to distort the actual news in body but outright contradict them seems to be an accepted practice in mainstream journalism. A few instances I had the energy to write about among the many I didn’t:
https://ludwitt.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/clear-lie-by-the-new-york-times-headline/
https://ludwitt.wordpress.com/2014/07/26/expected-propheadline-on-cnn-does-not-match-story/
https://ludwitt.wordpress.com/2014/07/23/aps-dire-headline-and-its-meek-story/
https://ludwitt.wordpress.com/2016/06/24/the-guardians-naked-lie-on-russian-reaction-to-brexit/
This seems to follow from the rules of a humorously written but dead-on guide to journalism from cracked. See Rule 4
https://www.cracked.com/article_18458_6-subtle-ways-news-media-disguises-bullshit-as-fact.html

Posted by: Ludwitt | Jul 7 2019 7:24 utc | 67

Posted by: C1ue | Jul 7 2019 4:41 utc | 65

Once again, you are making a bold statement, which generally requires a strong set of evidence.

Are you now saying I am British? But the Brits are by far not the only ones who are making bold statements about Russia and Syria and Libya and Yemen – without any whatsoever sets of evidence about their alleged crimes. Plus, what is going on with the OPCW, has shown clearly, that so called international organizations that are supposed to inform the populations about certain events, or are supposed to be impartial are neither the first, nor the latter.
Your knowledge of these treaties is available with a search engine. It shows, that you are not informed though about the history of proliferation of short and intermediate nuclear capable missiles in Europe – where they are most dangerous and mostly rejected by the European people. The Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty was an important pillar of peace in Europe. It protected Europeans from Russian missiles that would have aimed at those countries with stationed Pershings. It worked. The US regime killed the accord. They are under no circumstances to be trusted. Under NO circumstances.
George Carlin told you that long time ago – without a strong set of evidence ever. The truth does not need evidence – it is the evidence.
And you can’t prove that I am wrong either.

Posted by: nottheonly1 | Jul 7 2019 12:55 utc | 69

The MSM papers + other print like magazines, weeklies, monthlies, low-level ‘journals’, no longer serve an information function.
They survive, are profitable or loss-wiped-off, by serving masters-owners / shareholders / Gvmt who part-owns, pays, etc. or as vehicles for advertising.
So, they peddle the pov of their owners / payers (incl. advertisers), or what they can convince their bosses is ‘the right way to go’, as monolithic and blatant slants rarely attract xtra customers, joiners. (Yet.. polarisation might be good as one might win that battle on one or another topic..!)
They stress the ‘negative – bad – dangerous’ (as opposed to goodie) as it attracts eyeball time, engagement. The ‘extraordinary’ has to be boosted front page or top of the slot as well. Sex -hints about- is a sure a seller. Oppositions are always good, the viewer, reader, is sollicited to take sides. Some cute shmaltzy stuff is lathered on, lacrimonious and hypocritical, ppl have to pretend to care.
A race to the bottom has ensued. This affects staff as well, the good guys, what is left of them, quit. (see also Red Ryder @ 30)
Earthquakes are not exempt!
UK. Peruse the red-tops (yellow journalism) plus much more
http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/britnews.htm
ex. Daily Express for Sat, Baby Archie.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-express

Posted by: Noirette | Jul 7 2019 14:38 utc | 71

Re-reading my comment @70. I didn’t mean to be dismissive.
Such a ‘coincidence’ is suspicious and I’m not inclined to give TPTB the benefit of the doubt for the same reasons (and more) that nottheonly1 has described.
A covert test has many possible benefits, from negotiating tactic to increased certainty of a successful attack.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 7 2019 16:23 utc | 73

Jackrabbit | Jul 7 2019 16:23 utc | 73
It did not come over this way. The real reason for this ‘possibility’ lies within everything that the US regime has done over the last two years. To call it unhinged would be an understatement.
In the light of a never before experienced militarism – it is no longer off to call the US a military dictatorship. For a Nation that rejects and if possible de-funds any International Court that could potentially charge the US with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
I have many reasons to love America, but am also aware of its descending into its darkest period since its inception. Alone the fact that this event took place July 4th explains a lot, if not everything.

Posted by: nottheonly1 | Jul 7 2019 18:44 utc | 75

@nottheonly1 #69
So in other words, you have no evidence – only personal belief.
That’s fine.
As for the other stuff – no idea what you’re talking about, only that it is irrelevant and inconsequential.
Your ongoing failure to address the reality of the NPT, CTBT and accompanying international structures, reinforces your highly speculative and likely not credible original statement.

Posted by: c1ue | Jul 8 2019 4:19 utc | 77

c1ue @77: So in other words, you have no evidence …
Another piece of the puzzle:

Russia ‘probably’ not adhering to nuke test ban, DIA director says

Sadly, USA has history of accusing enemies of doing what USA does or intends to do.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 8 2019 7:58 utc | 79

Formerly T-Bear @78–
In one of the greatest of ironies, Trump delivered a speech touting his environmental accomplishments while the DC region flooded from torrential rain. A comment;
“‘Is this a joke?’ said Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. ‘It’s like an arsonist talking about how valuable his work is to the fire department.'”
The article’s photos provide quite a sight!
And thanks for your qualifying my rage as “Anti-Spock,” although it’s not what I was thinking at the moment but absolutely correct!

Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 8 2019 21:11 utc | 81

Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 8 2019 21:11 utc | 81
“‘Is this a joke?’ said Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. ‘It’s like an arsonist talking about how valuable his work is to the fire department.'”
I’ve read that arsonists often are firefighters themselves, especially volunteer or seasonal. They do it hoping to get more paid hours, and/or for the thrill which led them to become firefighters in the first place.
As for the biggest arsonists like politicians, the USFS and timber companies, of course it’s most of all for corporate profit.

Posted by: Russ | Jul 9 2019 9:01 utc | 83