In the most misleading headlines category, we have a story about AIDS in New York City.
For the same reason, however, the report said it was impossible to determine if there was an increase in HIV infection, but suggested that in New York the infection rate was three times higher than the national average.
The headline chosen by AFP for this story is a clear indicator that modern journalism is targeted to and written by people whose cognitive function appears to max out around junior high school level or lower.
If this story had been written by a true professional interested in disseminating useful information about AIDS the headline would have been New York AIDS infection rate 3 times higher than national average.
That is the key information. This leads to the question, why does New York City have such a high rate? Three times the rate of unprotected sex with multiple partners? Three times the intravenous drug use? Three times as many gay men? In our developing idiocracy, a casual reader would have scanned the headline and come away with the impression that the AIDS virus strain in New York City is three times as virulent as elsewhere. That’s just not the case.
Shoddy journalism irritates me because it dumbs down the audience that is exposed to it.
AIDS does not spread itself. The host organism’s behavior and activities are the primary factor in the rate of spread.