The term "rage farming" was a new term to me when I started to see people talking about it on twitter - here is the Slang Dictionary definition:Conservatives never let a lie get in the way of rage farming. pic.twitter.com/mmqMShpABF
— Currently Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (@IAMSMRT1) August 30, 2022
Rage-farming is a slang term for the political tactic of intentionally provoking political opponents in order to create or increase exposure for one’s group or cause. The tactic is especially associated with conservative and far-right political groups.The term rage farming is always used in a critical way. It is typically applied to the act of posting intentionally inflammatory content or otherwise trolling political opponents online with the goal of eliciting a large number of angry responses, thus leading to widespread exposure for the original poster. However, the term may be applied to practices other than online posts, such as making inflammatory comments in interviews or speeches that will be widely covered by the media.
There appear to be three sections on the Canadian rage-farm right now:A political scientist told The Tyee he expects aggressive attacks on politicians to increase in Canada as right-wing politicians continue to engage in “rage farming” by advancing false and misleading conspiracy narratives.“They know how to feed those narratives,” said University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley.“It is little half-truths, sometimes more blatant lies, that kind of plant the seeds for this rage farming,” he said....[Wesley said] politicians in Canada were stoking resentment of so-called elites.“This time around, it’s not just anti-elitism, it’s what we call anti-pluralism,” Wesley said, explaining that United Conservative Party politicians in Alberta in particular advance the narrative that there are “pure people out there, pure Albertans.”And so when people like Freeland come to their town, they are targets for abuse because they are not viewed as real Albertans or real Canadians, he said. Freeland is from Peace River, Alberta, north of Grande Prairie.All three politicians [Kenney, Poilievre, Smith] have, for example, been pushing the narrative that Trudeau is somehow attempting to punish farmers by searching for ways to lower emissions from fertilizer.Smith in particular, has made numerous statements about how vaccine mandates were an unnecessary intrusion on people’s freedoms and she has threatened to fire the board of Alberta Health Services and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.She has advanced the idea of an Alberta Sovereignty Act that she says would allow Alberta to opt out of federal laws, including those governing guns.“What these narratives do for conspiracy theorists, is that it helps them make sense of, first of all, complex things that don’t otherwise make sense; it’s boiled down into something really simple,” Wesley said. “And secondly, it gives [conspiracy theorists] an out of sorts, where it allows them to see other people as being either the source of their problems or as being less moral or less worthy.”Ironically, he said, this extreme behaviour by people like McDavid will make it less likely that politicians will come to hear them out in their communities because they don’t wish to be abused and they legitimately fear for their safety.When an incident like the attack on Freeland happens, it takes a politician away from the message they were there to deliver.“So this creates a spiral; a populist spiral where people say they are not listening to us.” Wesley said.“Well, of course, they are not listening to you. Look at what is happening when they try to listen. It is just a self-perpetuating cycle.”...
Does anyone expect anything rational from Smith or the Prosperity Project when it comes to our global #ClimateCrisis?
— Elke Babiuk (@ElkeBabiuk) August 30, 2022
This not just #RageFarming anymore. It's full-on stupidity that worships O&G no matter if our planet is on fire or not. https://t.co/3UwVS8OwCn pic.twitter.com/Cc0IH4lUBj
Poilievre deleted his latest ‘rage farming’ anti-vaxx Tweet. Ironic, he is vaccinated but lives to rile up FreeDumbers who are incapable of thinking critically. #PierrePoilievreIsLyingToYou https://t.co/Vog22nuduu pic.twitter.com/Rdx0Rq9BId
— Isis Wise¸.•*¨🐈⬛ (@IsisWise) August 30, 2022
It's such nonsense. He could just as easily be inveighing against the European Figure Skating Federation if a bunch of sleazy conspiracy mongers had decided that's the boogyman of the day.
— Stephen Maher (@stphnmaher) August 30, 2022
Oh my god this is insane. https://t.co/0op0Vtj8LK
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) August 30, 2022
This explains the "eating insects" hysteria. It is stunning how anyone would believe something this stupid:If you’re ever curious how many ragey right wing accounts created in the past 4 months are following you, include a WEF reference in one of your tweets.
— Barney Panofsky's Best Intentions (@mynamesnotgordy) August 30, 2022
— Greg MacEachern (@gmacofglebe) August 30, 2022
“On July 5, Cheryl Gallant, the Conservative MP for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, creates a Facebook post linking protests against sustainable farming practices in the Netherlands to February's Canadian Freedom Convoy protest with the caption, ‘Trudeau wants us to eat crickets.’”
— Greg MacEachern (@gmacofglebe) August 30, 2022
It's true. Trudeau keeps mailing me crickets. And recipes. 😂
— If they are all Fredo, we are all Frodo (@FaganKara) August 30, 2022
...the crickets I'm hearing these days are from Conservatives, when asked what their actual plans are for governing...
— Pat Johnston (@patjinfo) August 30, 2022
Reverend Coren, as usual, is spot on. @VoiceOfFranky ’s longitudinal public sentiment data are consistent with this.
— David Fisman (@DFisman) August 29, 2022
Rage farming is damaging our social fabric, though. Social media cos are complicit. It needs to stop. https://t.co/c85ZMX32mt
