They use wording -- just like this article does -- like "X happens as Y also happens".
The keyword being "as" and not "because" or "due to".
It implies causality, by coupling both in the same title, without technically linking the two.
E.g. "Stocks fall as rate increase looms"
They're basically just saying two things happened at the same time, or one after the other, but one didn't necessarily cause the other.
IOW, they know they can't link the two -- i.e. they can't user words like "because" or "due to" -- but they also know that by coupling them in the same headline, readers will still infer causality.
I have specifically noticed this pattern with the red-flag headline word “amid”. It always means the beta coeffficent is 0 but they want you to think it’s 1.
“President announces crackdown on immigration amid ongoing success of Taylor Swift’s new album”.
My partner and I make an informal hobby of tracking language like that which is designed to sneakily water down the strength of a headline. "Amid" rather than "because of" is a really good one. My personal favorite is "Reports: ". If you just preface your headline with that, you can say any old thing you want to and then later when pressed on the truth value of it you can retreat to the idea that you weren't reporting that as fact, you were reporting the fact that other people are saying it and you're not obligated to say who or how many or any other things that people might be saying. The practical upshot is that you as a journalist get to purposely induce people to believe something you know to be false but no one can technically call you a liar.
“We’re not sure what exactly is going on inside the town of Beaverton, Tom, but we’re reporting that there’s looting, raping and yes, even acts of cannibalism.”
“My God, you’ve actually seen people looting, raping and eating each other?”
“No, we haven’t actually seen it Tom, we’re just reporting it.”
They use wording -- just like this article does -- like "X happens as Y also happens".
The keyword being "as" and not "because" or "due to".
It implies causality, by coupling both in the same title, without technically linking the two.
E.g. "Stocks fall as rate increase looms"
They're basically just saying two things happened at the same time, or one after the other, but one didn't necessarily cause the other.
IOW, they know they can't link the two -- i.e. they can't user words like "because" or "due to" -- but they also know that by coupling them in the same headline, readers will still infer causality.