Do News Outlets Invent Stories to Sell the News?

As an author, I know how easy it is to write fiction that straddles the line between doubt, fear, and provable accuracy, leading readers to my desired destination. A suggestive word deposited in the right spot can change a boring story into a headline article in a snap.

In today’s hyper-competitive media environment, the line between reporting the news and creating it can sometimes blur. With dozens of outlets vying for clicks, views, and shares, the pressure to keep content flowing—especially on slow news days—is intense.

And yes, sometimes stories are inflated, angles exaggerated, or headlines sensationalised just to maintain engagement and sell the news.

Selling news isn’t inherently unethical. It’s necessary. News organisations—whether traditional newspapers or digital startups—need revenue to survive. Subscriptions, advertisements, and syndication deals all rely on people consuming the stories they publish. Without those consumers, there’s no funding for journalists, photographers, editors, or fact-checkers.

But when there’s nothing “big” happening, what do they report? This is where soft stories—quirky human interest pieces, celebrity gossip, or speculative trends—fill the void. These aren’t necessarily fake, but they can be fluffed or framed for impact. Worse, some outlets disseminate borderline misinformation, disguised as “breaking news,” simply to keep audiences engaged.

Still, the audience isn’t powerless. Readers must be discerning, checking sources and spotting bias. Trustworthy journalism does exist, but it competes with noise and clickbait every day.

In short, news doesn’t always invent stories, but it does sometimes stretch them, especially when there’s little else to cover. Selling news may keep the presses (and websites) running, but the responsibility of staying truthful should never be sacrificed for the sake of a headline.

-M (Author of SEETHINGS, downloadable and free for a limited time)