40 Stories That Made The News Because Of How Wholesome They Were But That People Detected Were Really Messed Up Right Away
Headlines! They ought to be short, clear, and to the point. Ideally, they’ll also have a dash of humor or a cheesy pun thrown in to keep us entertained. Considering the massive amount of information each and every one of us is bombarded with on a daily basis, we prefer to get our news bite-sized and easily digestible. Who has the time to read everything cover to cover, anyway? And those of us who find the time for long-form content really want to know what kind of story we’re getting into. Some headlines, however, totally catch us off guard and make us do a double take.
So much so that we can’t help but sink our teeth into the story because of how dystopian it sounds. Bored Panda has collected the weirdest news story headlines out there that were probably meant to sound super wholesome and cheerful, yet are actually anything but. Tone-deaf and miserable? Yup, yup. Feel-good and heartwarming? Nope, nope.
Once you think about it for more than two seconds, you realize just how messed up the stories really are. Like features about coworkers donating their time off to a seriously sick colleague. Or people teleworking from the hospital. Or posts about kids starting up businesses to pay off someone’s debt. It really makes you think that these acts of kindness wouldn’t be needed if society prioritized different things.
If you have any faith in humanity left, we suggest you lock it up tight somewhere safe, dear Pandas. Where we’re going, we’ll only have unfairness and outrage as our companions. Share your opinions on these headlines and stories in the comments. And be sure to check out Bored Panda’s chat about the news, clickbait, and being overwhelmed by negativity with Ariane Sherine. She is the editor at ‘These Three Rooms,’ is super media-savvy, and has published a whole bunch of awesome books. You’ll find the full interview below.
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Writer and editor Ariane shared her insights about how to make a headline stand out from the crowd and why clickbait works.
“Work out what in the article people want to know most, and then write a headline that suggests they'll learn that if they click on it—but ensure the payoff is just as good as the headline promises,” she shared some of her journalistic expertise with Bored Panda.
It's not in the budget. The football/ sports team comes first after all.
The work done on the robotic bees will be applicable to all sorts of other areas too. It is not wasted research.
Or it depends if she wanted to walk to show an example to grandkids or if she were forced to walk without any alternatives. Many of these headlines are clearly horrific but this would need the article text to judge
“Clickbait works because people are desperate to know the 'one weird trick that doctors don't want you to know!' or similar. When it turns out that the trick is actually something really mundane, readers feel cheated," she said, adding that this probably won’t stop them from clicking on future clickbait headlines. In short, clickbait works, but you really don’t want to mess with your readers’ expectations. You’ve gotta make it worth their while.
Honestly, with stuff like this and gerrymandering - some politicians are clearly trying to revert back to ancient Roman “democracy”, where you could vote - but only if you were an adult male and not a slave. There are “officially” no slaves now, so they’ve just replaced that group with “anyone who isn’t a carbon copy of me”.
George Floyd did not sacrifice his life for shit, he was murdered by a racist cop in a racist system
What's the point of voting if it's just picking the lesser or two evils
According to media expert Ariane, from the UK, bad news tends to be a lot more dramatic than good news. And, well, drama really makes for a more entertaining read, no matter how miserable the story might be.
“This instinct towards drama and not empathy doesn't show humanity in its best light,” she said.
In her opinion, people read negative news for the same reason why they gawp at car crashes. “They want to ogle at what's happened because it's dramatic and entertaining and scary, but it's also a warning of what could happen to them if they're not careful.”
The whole concept of sick days as something that is counted and could be donated is mindbogglin
A child can’t stay on the transplant list, solely because he’s homeless.
We can easily become overwhelmed by all the negativity on the news and on social media. The truth is that life isn’t as horrible and evil as it’s presented: there’s a lot of beauty and good to be found, too.
Writer and editor Ariane shared her advice on what to do if you feel like you’re drowning in all the drama and awful headlines.
'...so his friend can afford to eat without going into debt.' No. He paid the debt that was already made. If they eat again, they will go into debt again. He is a hero but to solve the problem is well over his power.
“Turn off the telly or computer and immerse yourself in the good things in life. Pet a dog, spend time with the kids, run a hot bubble bath, read a lighthearted rom-com, speak to a cheery friend you care about, or go for a walk in the sunshine. It won't mean there aren't bad things in the world anymore of course, but shifting your focus will mean you soon feel a bit brighter and happier.” Any advice that involves petting dogs is 100% accurate, according to our local doggos and pupperinos.
It's sad that she'd be in this condition, but in a way, it was probably her decision, and it's sweet that she cares for the students enough to do this.
Quite a few of the wholesome-but–actually-awful news stories that come out from the United States have to do with the mess of a healthcare system that’s in place. We’ve covered why the system doesn’t work before, but in short, there are a lot of funds wasted on administrative costs, competition is scarce, and insurance providers care more about keeping costs down than patients healthy.
Aww it's so cute, he is so rich he has no idea about life at all, yet he has so much power
Not sure this has anything to do with his wealth....I have absolutely no clue what pizza rolls cost. I'm assuming Bill Gates doesn't eat pizza rolls, so he'd have no reason to know the price.
But to think they’re $22 shows how out of touch. $22 can feed me for a few days
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Oh no, he has no idea about the cost of something he has never bought. How terrible of him! Seriously though, does this test really tell you anything but the fact that you have never bought it before? I don't cook so I would have no idea how much vegetables or meat should cost. I could do fruit though because I do buy it from time to time. I have no idea how much a generic bottle of wine would cost, as I don't drink at all. I feel like this is mostly inconclusive.
This is more like giving archaic technologies (Cassette Player, VCR, Rotatory Phone) to a young teen and laugh at them for being clueless about it. If anything, at least he knows life isn't cheap.
As muc as I despise gates- or more like Microsoft itself- for their marketing practise (The Simpsons make fun of it too).... Bill Gates at leas do some good things as donating money and other stuff... we can be angry he do not donate more, sure.... but the thruth is he doing it... its his free decision. He even have his own Foundation I think....
I never bought pizza rolls so I have no idea how much it costs. I would have guessed about $5.99.
I have no idea how much such a product would sell for. I don't know how much a pint of milk, nor a loaf of bread costs either. However, I do have a rough idea of the cost of my weekly shopping bill.
I don't know the cost of processed foods either, because I never buy them. Show me some meat, produce, dairy, and such, and I'd be fairly accurate.
He still supports a lot of charities and spends his wealth on good causes. I'm not gonna blame him that he can afford someone else doing shopping for him if he doesn't like it. Honestly I wish everybody could have enough money not to dedicate space in their minds on how much everyday grocery products cost. I wish everybody could go to a shop and buy food they want to eat and not pay attention to the prices. This is sad that people need to carefully chose their everyday diet so they could afford other things as well.
Massive assumptions Americans are rich based on AVERAGE, bogus! Of nearly 300 million, we have 724 billions and 20,200,000 millionaires.
No. What's really bad about this is he thinks a cheapo item like pizza rolls costs $22 and he's still ok with min wages in the US.
I suggest that maybe 98% of the world's population don't know what Pizza Rolls cost because they've never encountered Pizza Rolls. Tell me, off the top of your head, what does a large jar of Vegemite cost?
I don’t know what a pizza roll is or how much it costs. Not from America, so how much does it cost?
Nobody knows how much that cost lol. Most middle class just toss it in the cart. Not looking at prices.
While there are some "earn" that amount on his paycheck every minute doing absolutely nothing.
A while back, Bored Panda spoke to Dr. Andrew Carroll, the head of Atembis LLC, about how healthcare providers have a clear financial incentive to keep the system as it currently is.
"It will be very difficult to reduce the administrative costs without overhauling the payment system altogether," he told us.
A civilized country would make sure no child has such a ridiculous thing such as "lunch debt" - feed them all! At no cost to them or their families! But then, you don't give a damn whether they have to defend against a shooter, so why the f**k would you care if they can eat or not, eh? I apologize for the rant, I am so disgusted with my country lately.
People Incarcerated by State Do More Fore Student Than State
You know the government is bad when even the criminals are the good guys
"Unfortunately, these payers tend not to have altruistic intentions towards their members. They cater to the advantage of the employers paying for the benefits, who want to try and spend the least amount of money they can,” Dr. Carroll said.
"Employers that pay for benefits will need to demand more of the companies providing the benefits or patients will need to file class-action lawsuits to demand that benefits due to them are not unduly restricted, as they are today."
Next up, Random Mathguy wins $$$ for his Physics 101 class material. Coming up next, teenagers getting injured doing random stunts.
Meanwhile, media expert Mike Sington, from LA, shared his thoughts about our shortening attention spans.
"Our attention spans have been reduced to mere seconds at a time because that’s the way information and entertainment is fed to us now. People get tiny bite-sized bits of news by scrolling a Twitter feed, they entertain themselves by scrolling quickly through Instagram and TikTok. It’s creating a habit that doesn’t have to be,” he explained to Bored Panda during an earlier interview.
Or there were no public transportation to use.. owning a car and paying all related costs should not be the 1st priority for a single parent even if the wages would be better.
An American friend of mine lost her job, and I blithely said hey why not go back to university and get an advanced degree like I did when I was looking to switch careers for something that paid better? She said not possible because she can't afford the student loans, and I said oh but you just pay those off once you can afford it, which is also what I did. She told me no, here you have to pay it off immediately. I, the naive Australian, couldn't think of anything to say other than "WHAT??"
"The good news is there’s plenty of long-form entertainment and news available, you just have to seek it out. I believe the benefit is worth it. I’ve discovered it improves your ability to focus, it’s more calming, you retain more information, and it gives you a more balanced and nuanced view of the world,” he advised people to try and change how they consume the news.
Work till you’re dead
This one might actually not really belong on this list, as the reasons are different. Japan has a demographic problem with an aged population. More than a quarter of the population is over 65, over 15% are older than 75. There also is the problem of a different work ethic (people won't stop working until they absolutely become unable to, regardless of their financial situation), and they have been battling labour shortages for decades. Their restrictive stance on immigration has worsened the problem. Working longer is an unpleasant but unavoidable necessity in this case.
Honestly.. having trouble at some time with organizing child care can happen everywhere. Free childcare services does not guarantee that this service is available at any given moment for everyone, especially not since 2019.
So child labour is legal if it's cute and by white kids ( I say this because a non white kid would be in handcuffs)
Multigenerational wars are a good thing, right?
Fighting in the same old war so that old men can cash in on the deaths of the young
Crying at work
…is occasionally crying at work that normal? Interesting attempt at gaslighting, almost.
Note: this post originally had 70 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
This is LITERALLY the right wing's ideal. Having individuals pick up the slack in lieu of having actual programs in place to help people in need. Notice how many of these are Health Care and School related. Kids should have free school meals. EVERYONE should have free health care. A living wage should be the BARE MINIMUM (I.e. Minimum wage) that someone needs to live a life without having to struggle or have multiple jobs to get by. But, EVERYTHING has to be monetized so that people who don't have the means to change the system or are so integrated into a system that they'll vote against things that would better everyone's lives can provide for the upper earners and stockholders. It's sick, and the fact that so many people are blind to how easy it would be to just do the things needed to better life in the US is heartbreaking. But, lobby on and distract with "social issues" that people honestly only care about because they're fed the outrage to do so.
This is so difficult to read. Hopefully in 2026 I can save up enough money to move out from the US
understandable and i wish you all the luck! but be very careful as there are many many problems in other countries too..i best not get started with the s**t that happens in my small EU country ;)
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White House press secretary announces that inflation is being controlled - as evidenced by gasoline selling for "only" $3..99 a gallon.
Thuis thread seems a better way to stop people coming to the USA than Trumps wall.
Yeah this is pretty bleak. Still, good on those people for trying to do some good in an un-fixable world.
Make them live on three part-time jobs with no benefits, no apartment/house, no connections. And while they're learnign reality, seize their assets, liquidate them all, and show people why Ayn Rand was *wrong*. Remove the top tier ----- and everyone just gets a promotion.
Ah yes, no country but the US breeds these... Oh wait. Elon Musk... Saud royals... Putin's pals...
Load More Replies... This is LITERALLY the right wing's ideal. Having individuals pick up the slack in lieu of having actual programs in place to help people in need. Notice how many of these are Health Care and School related. Kids should have free school meals. EVERYONE should have free health care. A living wage should be the BARE MINIMUM (I.e. Minimum wage) that someone needs to live a life without having to struggle or have multiple jobs to get by. But, EVERYTHING has to be monetized so that people who don't have the means to change the system or are so integrated into a system that they'll vote against things that would better everyone's lives can provide for the upper earners and stockholders. It's sick, and the fact that so many people are blind to how easy it would be to just do the things needed to better life in the US is heartbreaking. But, lobby on and distract with "social issues" that people honestly only care about because they're fed the outrage to do so.
This is so difficult to read. Hopefully in 2026 I can save up enough money to move out from the US
understandable and i wish you all the luck! but be very careful as there are many many problems in other countries too..i best not get started with the s**t that happens in my small EU country ;)
Load More Replies... White House press secretary announces that inflation is being controlled - as evidenced by gasoline selling for "only" $3..99 a gallon.
Thuis thread seems a better way to stop people coming to the USA than Trumps wall.
Yeah this is pretty bleak. Still, good on those people for trying to do some good in an un-fixable world.
Make them live on three part-time jobs with no benefits, no apartment/house, no connections. And while they're learnign reality, seize their assets, liquidate them all, and show people why Ayn Rand was *wrong*. Remove the top tier ----- and everyone just gets a promotion.
Ah yes, no country but the US breeds these... Oh wait. Elon Musk... Saud royals... Putin's pals...
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