User:Gryllida/Common words to avoid

This is an essay by one or more individuals on using and contributing to Wikinews. It contains their advice or opinions, not necessarily those of the Wikinews community. Community essays can be found here; links to official policies can be found in the Wikinews introduction.

This is an user essay, suggested by its author(s). It's not a community essay, nor a policy or guideline.

Words to Avoid (or Use with Care) Because They Are Loaded or Confusing

Similarly to this resource (from gnu.org), at Wikinews we avoid some words commonly used by mainstream media.

"Terrorism"

This is an attention catching word meant to incite panic and invite attention of the reader to the headline.

Mainstream media often uses this word

• without clearly specifying the motive or
• without specifying the evidence behind it - often mainstream media uses the word at a whim, even if motivation is unknown.

It is better to

• say what was done (a murder or a traffic accident or other attack type) and how many people injured, and
• list the evidence about motivations, specifically, with attribution.