'Click the Link Below to Read More'

There is a desire among newspapers and news-sites to get more readers, because more readers means more advertising revenue (apparently). 

This ruthless chase to the bottom is evident in the Facebook page of the Euro Weekly News, where evidently, anything goes.

Posts are now festooned with hashtags (such as #Spain or #LatestNews) which are used - in theory - to bring extra visitors. 

There is the good old click-bait. The headline leaves a teaser for the reader to click on, where  all will be revealed. Today, there's one that wonders how much the Spanish Royals make each year ('Find out here'); or this one (grammatical mistake included): 'Who remembers the serial killer Dennis Nilsen? Well one of his inmate's has a story to tell'.

They run riddles to gather those hits (visits, really). 'What goes up but never goes down?' is today's effort.

They ask questions like 'what is your favourite love song?' or 'would you eat crickets?' or 'Covid passports - is it time they were scrapped?'. No doubt the Spanish health authorities are biting their collective lip waiting for the answer of that last one from the Weenie readers.

Or, 'how many ducks are in this picture?' (unfortunately, I'm banned, so I couldn't give my considered answer).

My favourite of today's crop of drivel has nothing to do with Spain (or even the UK):  'Just how tolerant should the police be in removing protestors, has New Zealand gone too far...?' They apparently play Barry Manilow music to upset the protestors (and understandably so). 

Is there a daily quota or something?

Wisely, the search button shows no posts from Leapy Lee following one from 2020 where readers were asked to vote on this far-right one-note warrior (74% of those who showed a preference said they liked him).  

Facebook works by dropping a few of your 'favorites' into your feed, so unless you visit a particular site, you will only be treated to a reduced number of their posts. More, perhaps, if you keep clicking. I think, if you really feel you the want the news from this outfit, you should probably stick to their webpage (or maybe choose the BBC, or the Express, depending on your needs).

 This week's paper has a few eye-catching things about it as well. The front cover appears to be a girl who has taken off a flimsy undergarment in public. No wait, it's a face-mask.  I think I speak for all of us when I say I was sorry this picture (and news item) never made it to the Facebook edition - perhaps they were worried that it might have been misconstrued. But shouldn't this story have continued on Page Three rather than Page Two?