It sounds like the New York Times is admitting that they have no journalistic integrity.

Perhaps you will interpret this article here differently.

Damage control.

The Reddit discussion is here. 

 https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/air4p8/nyt_admits_being_clickbait_before_you_judge_the/?st=JR8AQ3II&sh=24d55c9f