Can you spot the bogus headlines?

Distrust of the media is at an all-time high these days and when it comes to sex offenses, the headlines you see can be even more misleading than usual. Take this little quiz to see if you can figure out what’s wrong with these headlines!

0%

5 votes, 2.8 avg
56

Can you spot the bogus headline?

Actually, the title of this quiz may just be a little bogus itself, because the goal of this quiz isn’t really to spot the bogus headline, but to figure out why it’s bogus.

We hope you’ll still give it a shot and, who knows? Maybe you'll even learn something from it!

1 / 10

1. This headline is bogus because:

No such thing as a 1,000-year sentence

Pedophiles are not eligible for parole

Should read “life sentence” instead

There’s no law against pedophilia

INCORRECT!
“Pedophilia” is a clinical diagnosis regarding an attraction to pre-pubescent children. An attraction to post-pubescent children (teenagers) is technically called “hebephilia.” In either case, the mere attraction (if not acted upon) is not against the law and, therefore, no one can be convicted of a law that doesn’t exist. This man could be more accurately referred to as a convicted child-molester.

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/07/03/convicted-pedophile-serving-1000-year-sentence-gets-parole/

CORRECT!
“Pedophilia” is a clinical diagnosis regarding an attraction to pre-pubescent children. An attraction to post-pubescent children (teenagers) is technically called “hebephilia.” In either case, the mere attraction (if not acted upon) is not against the law and, therefore, no one can be convicted of a law that doesn’t exist. This man could be more accurately referred to as a convicted child-molester.

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/07/03/convicted-pedophile-serving-1000-year-sentence-gets-parole/

2 / 10

2. This headline is bogus because:

should read “searching for robbery suspect”

should read “suspected sex offender”

should have posted a mugshot, not a video

video has nothing to do with the headline

INCORRECT!
The article reads:
“Roberto A., who is a registered sex offender, is wanted after deputies went to his house during a home verification check and found that he was no longer living there, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office officials said.”
Surprise! He is “wanted” for failure to change his address, not robbery, as most would assume by the placement of the video of a completely different person and story between the headline and the actual story!

Source: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2020/07/24/el-paso-deputies-searching-wanted-sex-offender/5505701002/

CORRECT!
The article reads:
“Roberto A., who is a registered sex offender, is wanted after deputies went to his house during a home verification check and found that he was no longer living there, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office officials said.”
Surprise! He is “wanted” for failure to change his address, not robbery, as most would assume by the placement of the video of a completely different person and story between the headline and the actual story!

Source: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2020/07/24/el-paso-deputies-searching-wanted-sex-offender/5505701002/

3 / 10

3. The headline is bogus because:

should use “suspected sex offender”

the word “snatching” is inflammatory

shouldn’t have pictured the baby

omits an important part of the story

INCORRECT!
This headline seems pretty straightforward, at least until you read the accompanying article. That’s when you learn the fact that the alleged abductor, Carl K., is the child’s biological father. Surprise! And even more interesting is the fact that we are told nothing about his custodial rights or lack thereof. We are simply left to assume that he is the non-custodial parent and perhaps even make the further, unwarranted assumption that sex offenders in general do not deserve custodial rights to their own children.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/sex-offender-caught-after-swiping-7-month-old-girl-from-mother-in-virginia

CORRECT!
This headline seems pretty straightforward, at least until you read the accompanying article. That’s when you learn the fact that the alleged abductor, Carl K., is the child’s biological father. Surprise! And even more interesting is the fact that we are told nothing about his custodial rights or lack thereof. We are simply left to assume that he is the non-custodial parent and perhaps even make the further, unwarranted assumption that sex offenders in general do not deserve custodial rights to their own children.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/sex-offender-caught-after-swiping-7-month-old-girl-from-mother-in-virginia

4 / 10

4. This headline is bogus because:

doesn’t make clear WHO is concerned

doesn’t specify what the errors are

it’s a clear case of fear-mongering

all of the above

INCORRECT!
The article in this instance is about a single error on a single registrant’s paperwork. At the time of his registration in 2018, the registrant (a 19-year old high school student) failed to disclose where he was attending high school. That story is very different from the headline’s implication that the registry is full of errors.

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/errors-on-sex-offender-registry-raise-concerns

CORRECT!
The article in this instance is about a single error on a single registrant’s paperwork. At the time of his registration in 2018, the registrant (a 19-year old high school student) failed to disclose where he was attending high school. That story is very different from the headline’s implication that the registry is full of errors.

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/errors-on-sex-offender-registry-raise-concerns

5 / 10

5. This headline is bogus because:

shows clear gender-bias

she hasn’t been convicted yet

doesn’t state the age of the student

shouldn't have named the school

INCORRECT!
Overwhelmingly, news articles about women (and particularly school teachers) who are charged with sexual battery or sexual assault against minors characterize that criminal behavior as “having sex.” Articles about men who commit the same crime typically use words like rape, sexual assault, or molestation in the headline. Many states subscribed in the not-so-distant past to the myth that a female could not rape or sexually assault a male, regardless of age difference or circumstances, and prosecutions of women prior to the 1980s were rare.

Source: https://weartv.com/news/local/navarre-high-school-teacher-arrested-for-having-sex-with-student

CORRECT!
Overwhelmingly, news articles about women (and particularly school teachers) who are charged with sexual battery or sexual assault against minors characterize that criminal behavior as “having sex.” Articles about men who commit the same crime typically use words like rape, sexual assault, or molestation in the headline. Many states subscribed in the not-so-distant past to the myth that a female could not rape or sexually assault a male, regardless of age difference or circumstances, and prosecutions of women prior to the 1980s were rare.

Source: https://weartv.com/news/local/navarre-high-school-teacher-arrested-for-having-sex-with-student

6 / 10

6. This headline is bogus because:

Amber Alerts are just for girls

that kid can take care of himself

the story reports allegations as fact

how does a car thief not notice a 12-yr old kid in the car?

INCORRECT!
The 12-year-old boy was found safe and police say he was never in danger at all. The incident began when two unknown male suspects stole a vehicle from the Cleveland woman, who – believing the police would not give her stolen vehicle report the priority it deserved – decided to claim that her 12-year old son was in the vehicle when it was stolen.

Initial report: https://www.wkyc.com/video/news/crime/amber-alert-cleveland-police-searching-for-missing-12-year-old-boy/95-6059e1eb-1b83-4636-9c2a-4187fbf05d2e
Hoax report: https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/crime/police-car-stolen-in-cleveland-with-12-year-old-boy-inside-search-under-way/95-3184c063-f073-486c-81ba-a44ffe9f8fb6

CORRECT!
The 12-year-old boy was found safe and police say he was never in danger at all. The incident began when two unknown male suspects stole a vehicle from the Cleveland woman, who – believing the police would not give her stolen vehicle report the priority it deserved – decided to claim that her 12-year old son was in the vehicle when it was stolen.

Initial report: https://www.wkyc.com/video/news/crime/amber-alert-cleveland-police-searching-for-missing-12-year-old-boy/95-6059e1eb-1b83-4636-9c2a-4187fbf05d2e
Hoax report: https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/crime/police-car-stolen-in-cleveland-with-12-year-old-boy-inside-search-under-way/95-3184c063-f073-486c-81ba-a44ffe9f8fb6

7 / 10

7. This headline is bogus because:

It’s sexist. Boys’ organs get stolen too

Mayors have no legal power to warn

None of these events ever happened

It needs a description of the van

INCORRECT!
The Mayor of Baltimore spread false rumors in December 2019 about kidnappers prowling the city in white vans, citing postings he saw on Facebook. No such incidents ever occurred, according to police. Still, the media covered it as actual news.

Source: https://www.wgbh.org/news/national-news/2019/12/06/the-hoax-about-kidnappers-in-white-vans-is-back

CORRECT!
The Mayor of Baltimore spread false rumors in December 2019 about kidnappers prowling the city in white vans, citing postings he saw on Facebook. No such incidents ever occurred, according to police. Still, the media covered it as actual news.

Source: https://www.wgbh.org/news/national-news/2019/12/06/the-hoax-about-kidnappers-in-white-vans-is-back

8 / 10

8. This headline is bogus because:

Each state has its own registry

It's about state contracts, not safety

It's corporate public relations

All of the above

INCORRECT!
Each time OffenderWatch, a billion dollar corporate mainstay of the prison-industrial complex lands a new government contract, they issue a press release like this one and the press almost always prints it word-for-word. It’s free advertising for OffenderWatch, not public safety news.

Source: https://www.govtech.com/computing/Maryland-Becomes-Part-of-Larger-Sex-Offender-Registry-Network.html

CORRECT!
Each time OffenderWatch, a billion dollar corporate mainstay of the prison-industrial complex lands a new government contract, they issue a press release like this one and the press almost always prints it word-for-word. It’s free advertising for OffenderWatch, not public safety news.

Source: https://www.govtech.com/computing/Maryland-Becomes-Part-of-Larger-Sex-Offender-Registry-Network.html

9 / 10

9. This headline is bogus because:

In CP cases each photo = a separate charge

DAs stack charges to compel guilty pleas

The man already spent a year in jail

All of the above

None of the above

INCORRECT!
The Great Falls Tribune reports the man pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse after detectives found illicit photographs on his cell phone and laptop. He also pleaded guilty to lying to authorities, for which he served a six-month sentence. The article even implies “he may never spend a single day in prison” even though he spent over a year in jail awaiting sentencing and will likely be on probation and the sex offense registry for life. This is how the media stokes the public’s outrage - by implying that the perpetrators of crime suffer no consequences for their actions.

Source: https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/07/20/great-falls-man-sentenced-sexual-abuse-children/3287821001/

CORRECT!
The Great Falls Tribune reports the man pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse after detectives found illicit photographs on his cell phone and laptop. He also pleaded guilty to lying to authorities, for which he served a six-month sentence. The article even implies “he may never spend a single day in prison” even though he spent over a year in jail awaiting sentencing and will likely be on probation and the sex offense registry for life. This is how the media stokes the public’s outrage - by implying that the perpetrators of crime suffer no consequences for their actions.

Source: https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/07/20/great-falls-man-sentenced-sexual-abuse-children/3287821001/

10 / 10

10. This headline is bogus because:

It implies he's breaking the law

No such thing as convicted pedophile

It’s a civil suit, not a crim investigation

The “allegation” is undisputed

It's an attempt to enforce NY law in VA

His charges are from 40 years ago

All of the above

None of the above

INCORRECT!
Let’s start with the fact that the New York Post is a tabloid notorious for misleading fear-mongering and sensationalistic reporting. According to the article, an individual is suing this man (who is a college admissions tutor) under the New York’s Child Victims Act, which opened a legal window to revive old sex-abuse cases. He wants a court to force the man to “fully disclose” his history of sexual abuse against children to the people he currently tutors. It ignores the fact that this person is already on the sex offense registry. Wasn’t that what the registry was supposed to be for?

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/convicted-bronx-pedophile-working-with-kids-in-virginia-lawsuit/

CORRECT!
Let’s start with the fact that the New York Post is a tabloid notorious for misleading fear-mongering and sensationalistic reporting. According to the article, an individual is suing this man (who is a college admissions tutor) under the New York’s Child Victims Act, which opened a legal window to revive old sex-abuse cases. He wants a court to force the man to “fully disclose” his history of sexual abuse against children to the people he currently tutors. It ignores the fact that this person is already on the sex offense registry. Wasn’t that what the registry was supposed to be for?

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/convicted-bronx-pedophile-working-with-kids-in-virginia-lawsuit/

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