Authors don't always have a final say on what the headline will be. Sometimes they don't have any say at all.
I'd say the writer has a tendency to write gloomy headlines: https://www.quantamagazine.org/famous-experiment-dooms-pilot...
It's pretty sickening to watch the (sadly predictable) HN sneering and mockery around the topic of someone's (anyone's) mental health. It's such a cruel, distorted and completely non-constructive conversation. Do you guys really not have anything more interesting to say?
mockery
cruel
distorted
non-constructive
You get all this from "make sure they're doing ok?".