Headlines are so called because their job is to catch your eye and your attention. But it’s always a good idea to read beyond an article’s headline and look at it in context of the rest of the article.

Some publications might sensationalise one detail that may not be the full story. This will become more obvious to you as you read through the article and look at the finer details. 

You may also find that the sources which are used to back up the claim in the headline are not of great quality, for example, using second-hand reports rather than first-hand accounts of an event.

And of course, if you see a screenshot of a headline being shared without any article or link attached, tread cautiously because;

1. Without the accompanying article, it is impossible to assess if the headline fully represents the key findings of the article
2. Or, there is a risk that it is a screenshot of a doctored headline, now a popular and common type of misinformation - they are not real, and mash the masthead from a legitimate source, eg, The Journal, or RTÉ, or The Irish Independent, with a completely made-up headline to try to fool users into believing it is true.

(You can easily verify these kind of headline screenshots by doing a search for the headline text plus the name of the publication - if it is real, it should show you that article, in situ, on the legitimate website or app. Just check the URL to make sure it is the real site, and not something like thejurnalie.com)