Dr. Kate McMillan, Chief Research Officer at the Stanford Internet Observatory, analyzed the mechanisms of outrage on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter on 15 March 2023. Her findings reveal that these platforms actively curate content that incites emotional reactions to increase user engagement and consequently profit.

The data indicates a measurable pattern of emotional manipulation. For instance, a 2019 study by the Pew Research Center found that more than 70% of users reported that conflicts and outrage-inducing posts are prevalent on their feeds, impacting user behavior significantly. This emotional engagement translates into financial gain. The algorithms are designed to promote content that elicits outrage, which in turn garners more clicks, shares, and ad impressions. Every interaction drives revenue; in Q4 2022, Meta Platforms Inc. reported $32.5 billion in revenue, largely attributed to heightened user engagement driven by this outrage-centric model.

Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook and former Facebook spokesperson, warned of these consequences during his testimonies to Congress in 2017. Hughes noted, "Facebook's architecture is built to encourage division and conflict," a statement that reflects an underlying structure where profits outweigh user well-being. Subsequent to his departure from Facebook in 2012, he founded the advocacy group "Fight for the Future," receiving $3 million in funding from the Omidyar Network in 2020, which shares concerns about the social consequences of the tech industry.

Further scrutiny reveals that outrage is not an unintended byproduct but an engineered component within these platforms' financial model. In May 2021, internal documents leaked from Facebook demonstrated that their algorithms were favoring divisive content over neutral interactions. This aligns with the historical practices seen in the media’s sensationalistic approaches to increase ratings, suggesting that the current model of social media operates under the same principles of exploitative engagement.

This is the third documented instance since 2018 wherein a major social platform was linked to inciting public outrage artificially, facilitating engagement through conflict and sensationalism. Following this pattern, the platforms reap financial rewards at the expense of democratic discourse and social cohesion.

In a stark example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation spread like wildfire on social media, contributing to heightened public tension amid a global crisis. Facebook and Twitter both reported spikes in user interactions during this tumultuous period, emphasizing that manufactured outrage increases overall usage metrics and thus ad revenue.

Renee DiResta, research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, highlighted in her 2022 testimony to the U.S. Senate that the spread of misinformation on these platforms leads to real-world consequences, including violence. DiResta noted, "The amplification of outrage is not just about clicks and views; it's about shaping a reality in ways that can lead to severe societal implications." This is a direct acknowledgment of the moral implications of profit-driven outrage.

With financial backing from large investors, social platforms that encourage engagement through outrage can continue to thrive. Investor confidence is evident as venture capital firms funnel hundreds of millions into these platforms, presuming that the cycle of outrage will sustain user interest and revenue streams. In the fiscal year 2021, Alphabet Inc., the parent company of YouTube, reported ad revenue exceeding $28.8 billion, demonstrating the financial success of this strategic approach.

Ultimately, the concerted effort to engineer emotional outrage is not an isolated incident, but a deep-seated structure manifesting across multiple platforms. These practices, rooted in a historical context of sensationalist media, have evolved to exploit the attention economy effectively. With this structure in mind, future discourse must account for the monetization strategies that underpin the information consumed on social media.

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