LONDON, (US News): Oxford University Press announced Monday that “rage bait” has been named its Word of the Year for 2025, spotlighting a tactic that has come to dominate social media feeds and fuel platform algorithms.
The term describes content intentionally crafted to spark anger, frustration, or outright outrage, often through provocative, offensive, or polarizing material. Creators deploy rage bait primarily to generate massive interaction in the form of comments, shares, and reactions, which in turn boosts visibility and revenue.
“While people may scroll past feel-good posts, content that triggers strong negative emotions tends to stop users in their tracks,” said Susie Dent, a prominent lexicographer and language commentator, in a BBC interview. “The algorithms notice that heightened engagement and push the material to even more people.”
The selection capped a public voting process that began with a shortlist compiled by Oxford’s team of language experts. “Rage bait” easily outpaced the two runners-up: “aura farming,” the practice of carefully shaping an online image to project effortless confidence and mystique, and “biohack,” referring to targeted interventions meant to enhance physical or mental performance and longevity.
Oxford University Press, publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, has chosen a Word of the Year every year since 2004 to reflect the cultural moment. Past selections include “podcast” in 2005, “emoji” in 2015, and “goblin mode” in 2022, the slang phrase that captured the widespread rejection of post-pandemic pressure to return to pre-COVID routines.
This year’s winner highlights a growing awareness of how outrage has become a core driver of social media traffic, with platforms rewarding the very emotions that keep users glued to their screens.
