Can't really say, Justin, without knowing how the Independent manages its content and social media presence. I have had two very interesting private conversations with a web content manager and a PR/social media consultant neither of whom, I hasten to add, work for The Independent. Both said that pressure is put on them to get as many "shares" and click throughs as possible. One confirmed that some of their clients clearly state in the commissioning briefs that titles are changed for social media to increase the click rate and that their performance is assessed and payments adjusted accordingly.

But the conclusion must be that The Independent, and not Facebook, is in the wrong here. (Although I suppose there could / should be an FB algorithm to prioritise the real title?)

I don't think we can blame Facebook for the misuse of the tags. They provide the technology and alternative social media titles usually do describe at least part of the original content, and the target audience maybe different compared with that for a website audience. In this case it has to be the Independent that is ultimately responsible, even if the title was written by a freelancer or contractor who, I presume, are paid by the Independent. It is clearly in the source code of the page on the Independent website, therefore they are responsible for it.

[…] has written a telling piece on her blog  with the example of this  newspaper article From Karen: How to write totally misleading headlines for social media :  Or how to seriously annoy intelligent people by telling deliberate […]

Or how to seriously annoy intelligent people by telling deliberate lies. A story about renewable energy has been doing the rounds within my social media circles,  and especially on FaceBook. It is an article from The Independent newspaper that has been eagerly shared by those with an interest in the subject.  The headline reads “Britain … Continue reading How to write totally misleading headlines for social media →