What is rage-baiting and why is it profitable?

Published On Dec 9, 2024, 7:00 PM

Winta Zesu, a content creator, has built her brand on 'rage-baiting', where she intentionally provokes negative reactions from her audience to generate engagement and revenue. By playing a character and embracing hate comments, she capitalizes on the psychological tendency of people to react more strongly to negative content. This trend has been increasing alongside social media platforms rewarding creators for interactions, raising concerns about the impacts of such content on public sentiment and trust in information. Experts warn that while it might increase engagement, it could also lead to viewer fatigue and normalized anger both online and offline, especially as it has permeated political discourse leading up to elections.