“Rage bait” is defined in the British dictionary as “online content deliberately designed to provoke anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive.”
The first time “rage bait” was used online was in 2002, when it was used to describe a driver’s reaction when someone flashed their high beams to overtake. The word then evolved into internet slang used to describe viral posts on social media.
The use of the term has tripled in the past year, reflecting a news cycle dominated by social unrest, concerns about digital well-being and debates about how online content should be regulated.
Oxford University Press selects the word of the year based on the use of approximately 26 billion words in English-speaking countries.
