- The author examines Betteridge’s law, which states that any headline ending in a question mark can be answered 'no', and questions its blanket application as a critical tool.
- Question marks in titles are not inherently bad; they become problematic when they imply a novel or interesting claim that the article fails to substantiate.
- Betteridge dunking is appropriate only when the question mark is abused, such as with fabricated or settled issues passed off as open debates.
- The modern internet incentivizes overconfident and aggressive titles, but accurate signaling of content should be the goal, even for nuanced or inconclusive essays.
- The best use of Betteridge’s law is as a reader’s self-defense trick to detect overhyped claims, not as a blanket indictment of question-mark headlines.