Algorithmic Outrage: From Rage-Bait to Right-Bait

How Social Media Turned Moral Superiority into a Content Strategy

Although I am chronically online, many years ago, I made the vow to stop arguing with people on the internet. My job, mission, or ministry is not to ensure that everyone I see online knows the same things as I do.

Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

So far, I’ve been managing my overwhelming urge to critique the flawed arguments of online commenters and content creators. However, I have recently encountered a challenge that is testing my ability to change. Occasionally, I come across videos that are blatantly or outrageously incorrect. This incorrectness is often demonstrated by a mismatch between the video’s content and the accompanying caption or spoken words.

While reviewing the comments on these videos, I noticed that many viewers pointed out the inconsistencies between the content and the captions. They rushed to highlight what was incorrect in the videos. However, the creator typically did not engage with these comments.

At first, I didn’t want to claim conspiracy, but after seeing a few of these videos, I realized that the content creator knows there is an issue with the content. In fact, they have purposely placed a problem or inconsistency in the content to generate more comments.

And I have begun to call this type of content “right-baiting.”

Like rage-baiting, right-baiting is an attempt to manipulate our natural emotional reactions and psychological responses to influence our engagement with content. While many people can easily recognize when content is designed to provoke anger, it is much harder to notice when it targets the desire to correct others or be perceived as correct. Therefore, I want to explore the relationship between rage-baiting and right-baiting and what this type of content indicates about the evolution of online discourse.

Rage-Baiting 101: The Art of Provoking Outrage in the Digital Era

In contrast to what I see as right-baiting, many people are familiar with the concept of rage-baiting. Rage baiting is a well-established content strategy in which creators intentionally produce online content designed to provoke an angry response from viewers. This anger often leads to increased views and comments on the content, as people are more likely to engage with material that taps into their negative emotions compared to funny or familiar videos.

In recent years, numerous researchers and journalists have observed that the rage-bait economy has enabled many influencers to build lucrative careers by provoking public outrage. This baiting often centers on highly contentious issues, such as social movements and identity politics. As a result, many have pointed out that the rise of rage-baiting content frequently contributes to the spread of misinformation and disinformation across social media networks.

Rage-bait content often features extreme opinions on current events or hot-button issues, leading to other genres like race-baiting. This extreme stance is designed to provoke individuals on the other side into creating their own content in response, whether through videos or comments. I have observed that much of our understanding of the manosphere, as well as contemporary discussions surrounding race, gender, and sexuality online, is shaped by the interplay between rage bait and the reactions it generates.

And while rage-baiting can seem like an innocuous issue or content style, we now know that the strategy can manipulate public opinion and perception in ways that can harm political systems and our perceptions of specific communities or individuals. However, most people now have knowledge and awareness of this content, which may reduce its effectiveness in the long term.

Rage-Baiting Redefined: The Cultural Shift Toward ‘Right-Baiting’ on Social Media

Whenever a content or communication strategy becomes evident to an audience, it must adapt and evolve to align with public awareness. This is why right-baiting is gaining traction in the content landscape. Similar to rage-baiting, right-baiting also appeals to emotions, but in a less intense manner.

Right-baiting is quite similar to the psychological tactic of gaslighting, which involves shifting your perception of reality to manipulate your emotions. Often, right-baiting content makes a statement in the video’s caption that directly contradicts the video’s content. This leads viewers to question their own understanding of what they’ve just seen. I have found myself watching right-bait content multiple times to determine whether I am mistaken or if the content itself is misleading.

Once you recognize that the content is inaccurate, most people go to the comments section to highlight these inaccuracies. These errors can be simple, such as a caption stating that one thing occurred in a video while something entirely different happens in the actual content. Alternatively, they could be more serious, involving blatant factual inaccuracies related to historical events or widely accepted knowledge.

A perfect example of this is videos captioned with statements like “Why did Beyonce miss her cue?” or “Rihanna gives the side-eye,” only to share a video in which neither of those things happens.

For me, the comment section often reveals whether the content is genuine or just clickbait. When content creators make mistakes, they usually respond to viewers in the comments to acknowledge the inaccuracies. In many cases, they may create a follow-up video or remove the content that received the criticism.

When it comes to right-bait content, there are often hundreds, if not thousands, of comments pointing out its inaccuracies. However, the content creator typically either does not engage with these comments or responds in a way that is unrelated to the issue. This lack of response encourages more comments to pile up.

I’ve learned that in comment sections, no matter how many times a point is made, there’s always someone willing to repeat it. For right-bait content creators, this repetition leads to a significant increase in engagement that they might not achieve without some inaccuracies in their content. By presenting “incorrect” information, they encourage viewers to rewatch their videos multiple times and flood the comments to assert their own correctness.

This approach exploits our shared assumption that the content we consume is intended to be truthful and accurate and that content creators are committed to maintaining that standard.

It also reflects the egoic impulse behind righteousness.

Rage is often a form of righteous indignation that can lead to outrage, while right-baiting fosters a sense of righteousness, promoting feelings of superiority and the urge to correct others’ perceived wrongs.

In both instances, however, the real joke is on the audience. The creator is not genuinely triggered or in the wrong; rather, they are intentionally eliciting those emotions to provoke the desired response from viewers.

Don’t Take the Bait: On Keeping Your Cool in the Comments Section

In many ways, the popularity of rage-inducing and clickbait content highlights the current state of online discourse. In an era where content creation is often driven by profit, there is usually an element of content strategy behind everything we encounter online. Even content creators who strive for authenticity do so with the hope of increasing engagement.

However, using a content strategy to benefit one’s platform can lead to unintended consequences that are often overlooked. Therefore, I want to end this piece with a statement from the author, Toni Morrison, which I have always enjoyed. The quote is as follows:

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language, and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly, so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”

In my studies of online comments and content related to identity politics, I have observed that a significant portion of the internet reflects the sentiment of this Toni Morrison quote.

Instead of concentrating on advancing social change, many individuals dedicate their time, organizational efforts, and social capital to engaging with and amplifying outrage-driven or controversial content. This brings to mind a well-known saying in internet culture: “Don’t feed the trolls.“ In this context, it serves as a reminder not to take the bait.

The success of rage-bait or right-bait content relies solely on the level of engagement it receives. If people did not interact with this type of content, it wouldn’t be an effective strategy, and creators would be less inclined to produce it. Additionally, we could reduce the influence and power of individuals who create content insincerely, only aiming to profit from emotional manipulation.

In the future, I expect there will be an increase in rage-bait content, and I don’t think right-bait will be the only type of content we encounter. So, stay alert, keep your head on a swivel, and once again, don’t take the bait.