An 18-year-old Donald Trump supporter is facing a felony charge after police say he threatened two Kamala Harris supporters with a machete as they campaigned outside a Florida early voting site.
It’s not switched willy-nilly though, it’s strongly correlated with race. The “better headline” is “dangerous black perpetrator prone to crime” and “foolish white boy that looks like you and just made a mistake of youth”. Appealing to the racism is what makes the headline “better” (i.e., more affirming to the majority readership).
The media seems to have no standard on using terms and switches them willy-nilly to net the better headline.
It’s not switched willy-nilly though, it’s strongly correlated with race. The “better headline” is “dangerous black perpetrator prone to crime” and “foolish white boy that looks like you and just made a mistake of youth”. Appealing to the racism is what makes the headline “better” (i.e., more affirming to the majority readership).