Australian influencer Belle Gibson faked having cancer to promote her cookbook. She promised fans that, if they bought her cookbook, she would donate to charity. But Gibson got caught not donating her money to charity. The online scam that she orchestrated remains notorious.

It’s one flagrant example of an increasingly common pattern: content creators manipulating their audiences for profit. 

Ragebait content thrives in social media. Many influencers use these tactics to anger their audience and gain their attention. They say or do something outrageous to gain more likes. The algorithm only cares about views, so these creators are incentivized to draw as much attention as possible.

A recent example of this phenomenon is Mike Holston wrestling with a crocodile. This stunt received tons of backlash by wildlife experts and conservationists, yet Holston got tons of views.

Neil Pore, a NASH senior, described his experience with ragebait.

“I used to watch One Piece, and I would see people hating on it online,” Pore said. “I used to comment on these posts, but later I realized it’s just ragebait.” 

An older example of ragebait is Red Pill content. In 2020, Red Pill — which was basically a bunch of men promoting masculine supremacy to a bunch of impressionable teenagers — blew up. Their goal was to be as outrageous as possible in order to maximize attention, and therefore profit.

Moreover, companies manipulate their audiences to increase sales for their products. They use tactics like scarcity, gamification, nostalgia, social proof, and more. Using emotional manipulation to market products isn’t a new technique, but in recent years, social media has allowed marketers to target specific groups with precision. They hire influencers to give an authentic feel and interact with the customers more, all in order to create a personal bond. 

For example, Labubus exploded in 2025. The company’s primary marketing strategy is to use influencers to advertise their product. Since they were sealed in blind boxes, consumers didn’t know which version they’re getting. Plus, there were limited versions of some Labubus. Customers impulsively bought more than what they needed, causing massive overconsumption and waste. 

Here’s a solution to solve this problem: Be aware. Social media drains the user’s energy, especially in an intellectual sense. This makes it easier for the influencers to manipulate users, driving more engagement.

Madalyn Williams, a senior at NASH, has adopted a wise approach.

“They want to cause fear or anger to create a sense of urgency,” Williams said. “They usually have question hooks, teaser hooks, visual hooks, and so on. Train yourself to recognize these hooks.”

Also, try to diversify the content you consume online. Diversifying less makes you more susceptible to influencers’ traps. Anger is dangerously reinforcing, but diversification allows the brain to lower the baseline arousal that makes ragebait irresistible.

Lastly, build your media literacy. There are tons of free courses online that can teach you to recognize persuasive techniques, find red flags, and verify that the information you’re reading or hearing is in fact true. 

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Editors’ note: All opinions expressed on The Uproar are a reflection solely of the beliefs of the bylined author and not the journalism program at NASH.  We continue to welcome school-appropriate comments and guest articles.