"According to Oxford's language data, rage bait has tripled in usage over the past 12 months, emerging as a defining expression of 2025's digital climate. What does 'rage bait' mean? The term refers to "online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content.""
""The fact that the word rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we're increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online," said Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages. "Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks, but now we've seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond.""
Oxford University Press selected "rage bait" as Word of the Year 2025 following a three-day public vote involving more than 30,000 participants. Oxford's language data show usage of the term has tripled in the past 12 months and it emerged as a defining expression of 2025's digital climate. Rage bait denotes online content deliberately designed to provoke anger or outrage to boost traffic or engagement. Experts link the term to a shift from click-driven attention to emotion-driven manipulation and to a news cycle shaped by social unrest and debates over regulating online content. The term originated on Usenet in 2002 and migrated into internet slang, viral posts, newsrooms, and creator communities.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]