Printed or online publications specializing in the publication of unverified, and sometimes knowingly false information, are usually called the yellow press. It is designed to attract the attention of lovers of sensations. Such articles are entertainment, not a source of truth.
The phenomenon of tabloid publications has been studied since the publication of the very first newspapers and magazines, affordable and not censoring the contents of their columns. The appearance of the yellow press is due to demand - a certain category of the public needs fried facts, albeit completely invented. But what are the reasons for this interest and who needs such shocking news?
The desire to become famous
Bad advertising is also advertising - even if a star appears in the news columns due to a scandal, her name becomes more recognizable. The viral effect works: the source of information is forgotten over time, and the name remains on everyone’s lips. That is why celebrities do not disdain to resort to the services of yellow publications to foster interest in their person.
Sometimes the publications themselves, previously not seen in yellowness and having high authority, also resort to this technique. They need sensations to raise ratings and attract advertisers. And even after they print refutations of previously published hot facts, the goal is achieved.
Consciousness manipulation
Scandalous news, deliberately thrown into the yellow press, is a tool to combat competitors. So, one of the very first tabloid newspapers, News of the World, which published sensations about British politicians, more than once became an instrument for eliminating political opponents, for example, British Minister of Culture David Mallor.
Escape from reality
For the readers themselves, the yellow press is an opportunity to escape from the gray everyday life. Reading eerie details of the crime chronicle, reveling in the dirty details of star novels, a fan of pulp fiction realizes that in his life, it turns out, not everything is as bad as it seems to him. The yellow press reconciles him with reality and makes it impossible to see life from the objective side, which shows an unpleasant truth.
