When Headlines Lie - George R. R. Martin did NOT say he is sad about HBO's ending of Game of Thrones

Here's what was actually said, in an interview George R. R. Martin did for Rolling Stone (source)

R. S.: How do you feel about the show ending?

Martin: You know, it’s complex. I’m a little sad, actually. I wish we had a few more seasons. But I understand. Dave and Dan are gonna go on to do other things, and I’m sure some of the actors were signed up for like seven or eight years, and they would like to go on and take other roles. All of that is fair. I’m not angry or anything like that, but there’s a little wistfulness in me.

So why are media outlets reporting that George R. R. Martin is sad about the direction HBO has taken the ending of Game of Thrones?

We know it's because the more sensational headlines are clickbait, which draws traffic and drives up revenues. But this illustrates a fundamental problem with "journalism" today. When news is entertainment, when news sources rely on clicks or ads to survive financially, the pressure to exaggerate or misrepresent the facts in the headline is just too much. And because most people never read anything beyond the headline before commenting, the incorrect information spreads.

Truth isn't necessarily simple. Facts aren't always easy and they don't always come to us in perfect headlines or soundbites. Reality is under no obligation to make sense to us, or to be simple, or easy to understand and digest. So the easy headline, the exciting turn of phrase, the clickbait, becomes the preferred choice for people inundated by oceans of information, most of it at best obfuscated, at worst barely intelligible in the ceaseless din of content shouting for our collective attention.

This is how people like Trump get elected, or here in Canada, corrupt assholes like Doug Ford, but that's another story for another day.


This is how people like Trump get elected, or here in Canada, corrupt assholes like Doug Ford, but that's another story for another day.

Please verify "news" before you share it, and call out the media for using clickbait headlines whenever you can. If we don't stay on top of this, eventually there won't be any factual news left. And that's not a world I look forward to living in.