Wait! Don’t Take the Bait!
Published on November 10, 2025, at 2:55 p.m.
by Addie Nails
Have you ever fallen victim to a social media influencer or an ad that instantly makes you mad, annoyed or even offended? If you’re anything like me, you’ve fallen victim to rage baiting.
Rage baiting is a content strategy used intentionally to make you angry and get your attention. It could be a controversial tweet, a fake news headline or a hot take that divides audiences. No matter what form it takes, rage baiting drives clicks, shares, conversation and publicity.
One of the most recent examples I’ve seen on my feed is TikTok influencer Mikayla Nogueira and her viral shopping haul. In the video, she showed off an extremely expensive collection of designer items, with an estimated total cost of around $186,000. Viewers were quick to flood the comments, accusing her of being out of touch and flaunting her wealth. Others defended her, saying she’d earned it. Either way, people were talking and with Nogueira’s 17.2 million followers on TikTok, her reach only grew.
Then, there are Donald Trump’s AI-generated pictures on X. He and his team have posted images depicting him as the Pope, a king and even a superhero. These posts instantly sparked reactions from both supporters and critics. Some praised the imagery, others mocked it, but everyone was engaging.
Candace Owens is another name that comes to mind. Known for her bold commentary and polarizing takes on politics and pop culture, she has built a large following across social media by provoking intense reactions online. Most recently, she spoke out after Charlie Kirk’s death, claiming in a YouTube video that “something much bigger took him out.” She went on to suggest that powerful figures were working behind the scenes, referencing alleged leaked texts and calls that pressured Kirk to back off his pro-Israel stance. The video quickly gained traction, drawing both criticism and support.
The result of all this? Exactly what these creators are seeking—attention. And that’s what makes rage baiting so frustrating and, honestly, kind of brilliant. It’s manipulative, ethically questionable and sometimes harmful, but it works.
Nogueira’s shopping haul didn’t just fizzle out into algorithm, it exploded across TikTok. The video racked up over seven million views and a variety of video reactions within days, boosting her engagement and follower count almost instantly. Trump’s AI-generated images continue to get millions of views and dominate news cycles. Owens remains one of the most talked-about online personalities—not because people always agree with her, but because she keeps them reacting.
At the end of the day, rage baiting is toxic. It fuels division, rewards negativity and trains audiences to react before they think. The best thing we can do is stop giving it what it wants—our attention.
