Scotland set to face Japan as World Cup warm up calendar 'leaked'. 

Detected Manipulations & Suggested Changes

Sensationalism / Clickbait framing

Using slightly exaggerated or dramatic wording to increase interest or clicks, especially in the headline or framing of uncertainty as near-certainty.

Title: "Scotland set to face Japan as World Cup warm up calendar 'leaked'". In the body: "Scotland are set for a home friendly with Japan in March as part of their World Cup build-up. And Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has all but confirmed the fixture." The article itself makes clear the match is not officially announced yet and relies on inference from Moriyasu’s quote and reports in Japan. The word 'leaked' in quotes and 'all but confirmed' slightly overstate the level of certainty compared to what is explicitly on record.

3 suggestions

Change the headline to something more precise and less dramatic, for example: "Scotland likely to face Japan in March World Cup warm-up, says Moriyasu".

In the body, replace "has all but confirmed the fixture" with a more cautious formulation such as: "appeared to support reports of the fixture" or "gave a strong indication the fixture will take place".

Clarify the status of the information by adding a line such as: "The Scottish FA has not yet officially confirmed the match" to make the level of certainty explicit.

Unsubstantiated / vague sourcing

Referring to reports or information without clearly identifying the source, which can reduce transparency and make claims harder to verify.

"They are playing England at Wembley on March 31 and Moriyasu seemed to confirm reports in Japan that the second game will be against the Scots." The phrase "reports in Japan" is vague; no specific outlet, federation statement, or named source is given. While this is common in sports journalism, it is still a mild form of unsubstantiated sourcing.

3 suggestions

Specify the source of the reports, for example: "reports in Japanese outlet [name]" or "reports from the Japanese Football Association".

If the exact source is not known, explicitly acknowledge the limitation: "according to multiple Japanese media reports, including [example outlet], the second game is expected to be against Scotland."

Where possible, add a clarifying sentence about the status of negotiations or scheduling, such as: "The fixture is understood to be in advanced planning stages but contracts have not yet been formally announced."

Appeal to emotion / promotional content

Using language aimed at driving engagement or loyalty rather than informing, especially in self-promotional sections that are not directly related to the main news content.

The closing promotional section: "Follow Record Sport on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On , every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks." This is marketing language encouraging engagement with the outlet rather than neutral reporting. It does not distort the match information but mixes promotional content into a news article.

3 suggestions

Separate promotional material clearly from the news article, for example under a distinct heading like "About Record Sport" or in a sidebar, so it is not blended with the factual report.

Tone down marketing phrases such as "your sporting fix" and "all of the up-to-the minute" to more neutral wording like "For more coverage of Scottish football, follow Record Sport on..."

Indicate that this is a standard promotional footer, not part of the editorial content, e.g., "Editor’s note: The following is information on how to follow our coverage."