“LADY GAGA PANTLESS IN PARIS” is the example given in “The AOL Way” internal documents.  That’s the best possible title. A buzz-worthy topic, a sexy result. It mattered little if Lady Gaga was actually pantless in Paris; it only had to relate somehow to the article as a whole. The entire title could be a come-on, a tease. It might well turn out that Lady Gaga was neither pantless, nor in Paris at the time. The important part was that the reader would click on those words to read the rest, thereby producing ad revenue for the websites. Words didn’t matter; stealing other people’s work also didn’t matter.

I still have a saved IM conversation with my boss, written after 10 months of employment, when I was reaching the breaking point:

“Do you guys even CARE what I write? Does it make any difference if it’s good or bad?” I said.

“Not really,” was the reply. —AOL Hell: An AOL Content Slave Speaks Out « News.