Rage-baiting

In internet slang, rage-baiting (also ragebaiting, rage-farming, or rage-seeding) is the manipulative tactic of eliciting outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic, online engagement, and revenue, as well as attracting new subscribers, followers, or supporters. This manipulation occurs through offensive or inflammatory headlines, memes, tropes, or comments that provoke users to respond in kind.

The related terms rage-seeding and rage-farming specifically describe the process by which content creators intentionally sow outrage to harvest (farm) online engagement, thereby amplifying their message. Political actors have employed rage-baiting as a tactic against their opponents, while social media algorithms reward both positive and negative engagement, inadvertently encouraging such behavior.

The broader concept of posting provocative content to encourage user interaction is known as engagement farming. Rage bait was named Oxford University Press's Word of the Year for 2025.

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