From panic to false alarm: the danger of ‘rage bait’

Earlier this month, Surrey police reported an alleged gang rape of a young woman in Epsom. Further information was unforthcoming, and the vacuum was filled by increasingly frenzied speculation on social media, driven by what a BBC headline called a “rage bait frenzy”.

‘Rage bait’ is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive”. It may contain no truth but seeks to stir engagement through fury.

In Epsom this frenzy led to local protests, with echoes of the 2024 riots that took place following the dreadful murders of three little girls at a dance class in Southport.

Protesters demanded that the police release descriptions concerning the suspects’ nationalities. They targeted hotels that were rumoured (wrongly) to be housing asylum seekers. They blocked roads, damaged vehicles and threw missiles on the riot police deployed against them. 

However, it seems that police couldn’t release further information concerning the suspects, because they may find no evidence that the offence had actually taken place in any respect. It now appears that the young woman had “sustained an accidental head injury” and “made a confused report”.

Today we’re so used to receiving quick information, that we appear to expect a running commentary on police investigations. Mistrust of authority has increased to the extent that we assume there may be a cover-up if we don’t receive all the main points immediately.

It’s also clear that social media has fundamentally modified the best way we generate ‘news’ and the best way we relate to 1 one other each online and in real life, in addition to the best way during which police and politicians are expected to do their jobs.

A fake or speculative story can travel around the world in minutes and will probably be accepted as fact by tens of millions. And AI could make it very convincing, creating fake incidents and even literally putting words into people’s mouths. 

Christians are on no account immune from the sort of moral panic formed on the premise of rumour and conjecture, so how can we be sure that that we’re, in Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:16, “smart as serpents and innocent as doves” in our online interactions? 

Firstly, we’re commanded to not bear false witness but value the reality. We should pray for “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding” commended in Isaiah 11: 2. Let’s be sure that we check the sources and evidence for the claims that we read online. 

Are they reported by any real news outlets? Or do they look like coming from accounts that primarily seek to stoke division and anger through the use of language that scapegoats or dehumanises groups of people that usually are not ‘like us’? We shouldn’t share anything on social media that we have no idea to be true – and we must always submit our own ‘side’ (if we now have one) to as much scrutiny as those with whom we disagree. 

We also needs to watch out for those that offer simplistic solutions to complex problems. If we’re serious about tackling the challenges our country faces, we want to tell ourselves of the problems and never accept the claims of anyone who says they’ve a simple answer. 

Secondly, we won’t control the tone of others’ debate but we might be careful about our own contributions. Let’s seek to talk with civility and respect, acting as peacemakers and ensuring that our conversation is “all the time filled with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). 

We should avoid personal attacks and maybe step away from debates that encourage people to take outraged and polarized positions. Let’s keep in mind that we’re to be salt and lightweight in society, and we must always not got down to agitate or offend. There is a difference between speaking truth and spreading disinformation, between free speech and inflammatory speech. 

And keep in mind that we’re ultimately accountable for each word we are saying, or indeed type on social media and even by private messaging. Jesus says: “I let you know that on the day of judgement people may have to account for each careless word they speak. For by your words you will probably be acquitted, and by your words you will probably be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

We can use our words and our actions to make an impact inside our own circles and communities. Let’s be those that make a positive impact, not a harmful one.

Finally, let’s be persistent in prayer. We have the privilege of having the ability to take our feelings of anger and powerlessness to our Creator, to intercede for peace and pray for those in authority. Let’s proceed to do that, as Paul exhorts us in 1 Timothy 2, in order that in these turbulent times, “we may live peaceful and quiet lives” in our local communities. 

Tim Farron has been the Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005 and served because the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party from 2015 to 2017. Tim can be the host of Premier’s ‘A Mucky Business’ podcast, which unpacks the murky world of politics and encourages believers across the UK to have interaction prayerfully. He is the creator of A Mucky Business: Why Christians should get entangled in politics.”