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Oxford University Press named “rage bait” its 2025 Word of the Year, highlighting a growing digital trend shaped by outrage-driven engagement. The term refers to online content intentionally designed to provoke anger or frustration to boost clicks, comments and shares.
After a global vote involving over 30,000 people, rage bait was chosen over two other contenders shortlisted by language experts at Oxford: aura farming and biohack.
According to Oxford, the use of “rage bait” tripled in 2025, largely due to the news cycle being dominated by social unrest, debates about the regulation of online content and concerns over digital well-being.
– De’Andra Gaston, 360 Media, Inc.