Ariel Hasell, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media, was recently quoted in an article published by BBC. The article, titled "What is rage-baiting and why is it profitable," examines the concept of rage-baiting, from misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories to AI-generated images, and how it influences us.
Hasell is quoted, "It can be draining to have such high emotions all the time. It turns them off the news environment and we’re seeing increased amounts of active news avoidance around the world." She and other scholars are concerned the influx of rage-baiting and negative social media content could lead to people "switching off."
