The Rise of Ragebait: From Bizarre Influencer Lies to Insidious Political Strategies

In this episode, I explore the steep rise of ragebait content & why we love to hate— from innocuous celebrity PR plays to more dangerous strategies in tech and politics intended to keep our digital ecosystem hostile and divided.  Timestamps: 3:34 Defining ragebait  6:28 The rise of ragebait & how platforms have played a role 11:50 Examples of mainstream ragebait by influencers: Nikacado Avocado & Winta Zesu 15:33 Ragebait as a political tool 20:35 Political ragebait example: Jubilee  22:27 The threats of ragebait 24:00 The appeal of ragebait 27:18 Conclusion  Find our podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18HclY7Tt5-1e3Z-MEP7Jg  Subscribe to our weekly Substack: https://centennialworld.substack.com/  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinitescrollpodcast/  Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmeisner_/  Sources: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=ragebait&hl=en  https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/what-is-rage-bait-influencers-making-people-angry-1234976621/  https://www.wired.com/story/gadget-lab-podcast-659/  https://thehilltoponline.com/2024/09/09/rage-bait-is-making-users-mad-and-content-creators-money/  https://www.threads.net/@zuck/post/C89oeSORn81  https://theconversation.com/the-draw-of-the-manosphere-understanding-andrew-tates-appeal-to-lost-men-199179  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03616843221123745  https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/01/owning-the-libs-is-the-only-gop-platform/676692/  https://www.businessinsider.com/why-creators-rage-farm-on-tiktok-and-why-its-on-the-rise-2022-12  https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/19/libs-of-tiktok-right-wing-media/  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/07/twitter-alternatives-bluesky-mastodon-threads/674859/  https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/jubilee-debate-videos-pete-buttigieg-ben-shapiro-1236199829/  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hate-watch  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-psychology-behind-why-we-hate-watch_l_61bcecede4b04b42ab5fa761  https://www.vice.com/en/article/93akvp/why-hate-watching-tv-movie-social-media-explained-psychology  https://www.garbageday.email/p/full-stack-trumpism  https://www.contemporarypsychology.com.au/anger-is-this-a-desire-for-change/#:~:text=This%20is%20because%20anger%20is,us%20to%20want%20to%20engage.  https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200723-how-anger-can-be-put-to-good-use