Some social media posts are designed neither to inform, entertain nor inspire, but simply to provoke anger.

They are easy to recognise: the sudden surge of indignation, the tightening of the jaw, the thumb already hovering over the reply button.

What often escapes notice in that moment is that the outrage was never accidental. It was the intended outcome, carefully engineered and delivered. The individual’s anger was the product.

Rage baiting, the deliberate fabrication of provocative, false or upsetting content to elicit outrage, has become one of the internet’s quietest yet most potent motors. 

The creator may not even believe what has been posted. What matters is not the belief behind the content, but the reaction it produces: comments, reposts, quote-shares and ultimately, the algorithmic........

© The Pioneer