Ragebait

Holonym: outrage culture

Near-synonym: outrage porn

Even before I spoke with the political scientists, Nerst contended that a better understanding of today’s online argumentation would help people cope with its excesses. “Most people really are tired of shouting matches and want more nuance (according to surveys etc.),” he wrote to me, “and I hope we will develop some cultural immunity towards ragebait and hyperzealotry soon. […]”

Donald Trump and Republicans understand this potent combination of content creation and shamelessness. Whether it’s weekend tweets by the president or Rudy Giuliani’s constant availability to journalists and Fox News hosts, Trumpists flood the zone with misinformation or ragebait.

Beware ragebait, social media that traffic in fear. Does that Facebook post make your blood boil? Or does it make you fearful of the future? Those are two of the reddest flags out there. But there are more.

On any given day, those who get their news from the loudest voices on the right—Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Breitbart News—are bombarded with partisan propaganda, conspiracy theories, and cynical rage-bait.

The whole thing sounds Trumpian because it is. The Trump campaign was unabashed in 2016 and beyond about its plan to “flood the zone” with garbage or ragebait. The strategy worked in part because it engaged and energized his base.

So what, precisely, is the new Trump campaign leadership going to do differently? Is there some brilliant stratagem just waiting to be discovered and executed? ¶ Of course not. They’ll keep pumping out those Facebook ads, which will bombard voters who already support him with endless ragebait.