I feel like many readers of news carry this misunderstanding, so just to clarify: journalists very often do not get to write their own headlines. Many times they aren't even consulted on the headline. They may be just as surprised and dismayed as a reader/critic.

It is frequently editors who write the headline, and it might even be editors who weren't involved in the reporting. Editors are always writing headlines with a balance of different motives and goals. Strict accuracy isn't always on the top of that list.