The Associated Press reported that Oxford University Press has come up with it’s “word of the year,” which for 2025 is “rage bait.”
The definition of “rage bait” is 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.
The selection is particularly appropriate for this year in Bartholomew County, where numerous social media instigators of “rage bait” have been active throughout the year, spreading rumors, misinformation, outright falsehoods and more.
And regrettably, those on social media spreading this content label themselves as “media,” another example of spreading misinformation as they consistently show their lack of expertise and ethics, along with their willingness to post outright lies about individuals without remorse.
Real “media” follow a code of ethics and are trained in obtaining information as news to inform the public.
In many of the local instances of rage bait, there is a motive for someone to post something anonymously through social media in an effort to “get even” with another individual, which is not news, and is not something actual professional media pursues.
Much of the local vitriol is stirred by allowing comments on the post, bringing more “rage bait” to the table. It is particularly concerning that those commenting are not allowed to be anonymous, although many use fake social media IDs on their pages, and the level of the rage bait ratchets up another few notches as individuals go after each other on these social media pages.
What is the point of all of this?
“Rage bait” attracts the weak-minded who believe everything should be entertaining, and those who believe they can get actual news on these social media pages while they promote hatred, division and lies.
Here’s the news about that. These social media pages do not contain “news.” They are trying to generate “clicks” on their content. The more outrageous the content, the more likely you will click on it.
If you are consistently supporting these social media sites, you are being used as a pawn in their money-making scheme, which is based on lying, promoting division, hatred and vengeance and rumors designed to hurt someone, all to make money for the page’s owner. These individuals do not care about the community, they care about making you an addict to their lies.
If you want to stop the “rage bait,” stop being sucked into social media sites that base their content on posts that are designed to get a reaction out of you.
Move back to following legacy media where you won’t find “rage bait” but you will find information that is verified, and designed to help you navigate with confidence that the decisions you are making are based on factual information, not rumors or innuendo.
