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| Smart chick: Valierie B never falls for clickbait |
You’re seeing so many of those “celebrity flaunts her huge size in bikini”–style ads because they sit right at the intersection of clickbait psychology and ad revenue incentives. A few key reasons:
1. Clickbait Formula
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These headlines are designed to exploit curiosity (“huge size” is intentionally vague—could mean body, wealth, ring, house, etc.).
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They often use shock value + sexuality to get people to click, which drives engagement.
2. Celebrity Obsession
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Celebrities are familiar faces that guarantee higher click-through rates.
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Marketers know audiences are drawn to stories about aging, beauty, or body image, so they lean heavily on those themes.
3. Ad Network Economics
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Many of these ads come from content recommendation engines (Taboola, Outbrain, Revcontent, etc.) that run at the bottom or sides of mainstream websites.
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Publishers allow them because they bring in easy revenue per click.
4. Targeting + Demographics
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If you’re browsing sites with entertainment, lifestyle, or news content, the algorithms may assume you’re in the demographic most likely to click.
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Even if you don’t click, they still show them, because the models predict a percentage of people will.
5. Low-Cost, High-Return
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These ads often lead to slideshow articles full of more ads, or even questionable products (diet pills, miracle creams, etc.).
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The whole chain is optimized for maximum ad impressions per user session.
In short: they’re not really about the celebrity—they’re about using familiar names and provocative language to generate cheap clicks that fuel an ad revenue machine.
👉 Do you want me to show you how to block or reduce seeing those types of ads (browser extensions, settings, filters), or would you rather understand how the ad networks themselves operate behind the scenes?
You said:
ChatGPT said:
Got it 👍 — here are practical ways you can block or reduce those “celebrity flaunts in bikini” clickbait ads depending on how you browse:
🔒 1. Browser-level Ad & Content Blocking
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uBlock Origin (free): Best all-around blocker for Chrome, Firefox, Edge. Stops most ad networks, including Taboola/Outbrain.
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Privacy Badger (EFF): Learns to block hidden trackers behind these ads.
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AdGuard: Offers both a browser extension and a desktop/mobile app with more aggressive filtering.
👉 These will wipe out most of the “recommendation widget” ads that appear at the bottom of articles.
🎯 2. Filter Lists for Clickbait Networks
If you already use uBlock Origin, you can add specific filter lists that target the worst offenders:
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Fanboy’s Annoyances List → blocks Taboola, Outbrain, Revcontent.
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EasyList + EasyPrivacy → core ad + tracker blocking.
Settings:
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In uBlock Origin → Dashboard → Filter Lists → enable Annoyances and Multipurpose.
📱 3. Mobile Browsing
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Use Brave Browser (built-in ad/tracker blocking) or Firefox with uBlock Origin.
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On iPhone/iPad: AdGuard for Safari or 1Blocker.
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On Android: AdGuard app or Brave Browser.
⚙️ 4. System-wide Blocking
If you want to go deeper:
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Pi-hole (runs on a Raspberry Pi or small server): blocks ads/tracking at the network level for all devices in your home.
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Router-level blocking (if your router supports custom DNS or blocklists).
🧹 5. Reduce Targeting
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Clear cookies / disable third-party cookies — prevents ad networks from building a profile on you.
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Turn off “Personalized Ads” in Google, Facebook, and your phone’s ad settings.
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Use a privacy-friendly DNS (NextDNS, Quad9, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 with filtering).
✅ If you just want the quickest, most effective fix:
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Install uBlock Origin on your main browser.
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Enable Fanboy’s Annoyances.
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Switch to Brave (on phone or desktop) if you want a no-maintenance solution.
