7 types of rage bait you probably fall for
Words by Ella Calland
Photos: Getty
Crowned Oxford’s 2025 word of the year, ‘rage bait’ refers to the deliberately divisive content taking over our social media feeds. According to Dr. Daniel Glazer, a Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in trauma, this provocative content preys on our natural responses: ‘Our brains are wired to respond more quickly to threats than to positives, so we react viscerally to rage bait, which then spreads across social media as predators engineer dopamine-laced outrage cycles. It’s the social media equivalent of being unable to resist salted snacks or hard drugs.’
Rage bait isn’t new – tabloids and news broadcasters have used similar tactics for years. However, the rise of short-form video, AI-generated ‘slop’ and the monetisation of attention have made this addictive, inflammatory content more potent than ever. At its worst, rage bait operates as a polarising political tool designed to keep voters in a state of perpetual fury and paranoia, but it also exists in subtler forms that simply aim to spike your blood pressure long enough to rack up views - feeding the algorithm at any cost.
Here are the sneaky forms of rage bait to look out for – so you’ll know when to keep scrolling.
1. Absurd life hacks
Ever watched a ‘life hack’ that made absolutely no sense? A long, meandering video that starts with someone pouring wax into an egg carton, and ends with a bizarre hanging ornament that no one would ever need or want? These ‘Five Minute Crafts’-style spoofs are deliberately nonsensical, designed to spark intrigue, then outrage, as you realise you wasted a full minute of your life with no payoff.
So, the next time you come across someone chopping up their Ugg slippers to turn them into a lopsided sandal, scroll on to avoid falling for the bait.
2. Entitled behaviour in public
This particular flavour of rage bait dangles social faux pas – parking across three spaces, resting feet on restaurant tables, cutting into queues – to inject a dose of indignation straight into your feed. The perpetrators are fully self-aware and acting out to purely gain attention. However, their actions still wreak havoc in the real world, revealing the damaging lengths creators will go to in order to game the algorithm.
3. Feigned ignorance
Ignorance has become monetised – it's no longer just a tool for pushing an agenda, but a quick route to engagement. This tactic isn’t new; public provocateurs like Katie Hopkins and Piers Morgan have made a career out of it. Hopkin’s viral moment declaring she disliked “geographic names”, only to reveal her child is called India, was a classic case of using feigned ignorance, snobbery and hypocrisy for attention – and we all took the bait.
Now, you don’t have to go on This Morning to stir this controversy. A simple snowy landscape captioned “proof climate change doesn’t exist” is enough to elicit the same response.
4. Harsh relationship advice
If you’re taking relationship advice from TikTok, you might want to rethink your decisions – these “experts” often don’t have your best interest at heart, their only intention is to stir the pot. This unsolicited advice can sabotage your love life, using blunt, generalised statements to ignite paranoia and irritation towards your partner that isn’t warranted.
Examples include, “if your partner doesn’t reply to your texts straight away they’re not prioritising you” or “spending more time in the bathroom is an early sign of cheating.” This excessive red flag analysis fuels a cycle of overthinking and distress that keeps you glued to the screen and can be extremely reductive when looking at a nuanced relationship.
5. Obnoxious interactions with “strangers”
This strain of rage bait comes straight from the playground: ‘pranking’ unsuspecting strangers with rude, obnoxious behaviour in ‘on-the-street’ style videos. Picture this: someone stops you for directions, then immediately cuts you off to critique your response. Or a fellow shopper keeps blocking your supermarket trolly over and over again. These jarring public interactions – whether staged or genuine – are extremely lucrative online. The shock factor hooks you, and the irritation it sparks practically begs you to leave an angry comment.
6. Shaming statements
Shame is just as powerful as anger, and the two emotions are deeply connected. Rage-baiters will use accusatory, sweeping statements to put unassuming scrollers on the defensive – antagonising them to clear their name in the comments. Look out for declarations like: “People who eat on the tube are the worst”, “If your partner doesn’t hold your hand, you should leave him” and “Parents who scroll on their phone are failing their children”.
These hyperbolic moral judgements exist for one reason only – to provoke a reaction. So, don’t give them the satisfaction.
7. Extreme hot takes
We’ve all had a doomscroll rudely interrupted by some guy on a podcast with a deeply misogynistic ‘hot take’. For example, the male hosts of The No Filter Podcast claimed they would end their relationships if their partner “let themselves go” after giving birth. This content became so prevalent that a counter trend spoofing #menwithpodcasts went viral on TikTok. However, in some ways this engagement fuelled the fire.
Now sexist opinions are dangled as a form of rage bait, shamelessly exploiting controversial topics to ignite a ferocious debate in the comments. Though it’s tempting to take the bait, a vicious keyboard battle is never the answer – minds are rarely changed in the comment section.
