'Rage bait' named 2025 Oxford University Press word of year

Australian Community Media

The term refers to online content that is "deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive", with the aim of driving traffic to a particular social media account, Oxford said in a statement. Video via AAP.

Transcript

00:00Have you ever scrolled past a post that has made you feel like this?

00:05Congratulations, you have just encountered Ragebait.

00:08Ragebait is content created with one goal in mind, to get under your skin.

00:13It's not about sparking a real conversation, it's about triggering an emotional reaction,

00:18whether that be an angry comment, a share to the group chat, or even just a simple angry emoji.

00:23Why? Because reactions equal engagement, and engagement equals visibility,

00:27and visibility equals more money for the content creator. Simple as that.

00:32Ragebait is everywhere online, and it thrives on disinformation.

00:37Wild extreme claims, fake news, cherry-picked examples, and baseless opinions.

00:43Because we're more likely to react to something that makes us feel something,

00:47and the more outrageous the claim, the quicker it spreads.

00:50So next time you see something online that makes your blood boil,

00:53before you fire off that angry comment, take a breath.

00:56And ask yourself, is this person really serious, or are they just fishing for a reaction?

01:01Because Ragebait only works if you let it.

01:04Sometimes the best reaction is no reaction at all.

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