Rage Farming: Trick Kenyans On X Are Using To Get Engagements

As you are reading this article, thousands of posts are being published on Twitter every minute, consisting of users sharing their opinions and thoughts on the platform. However, there is always that one post that sparks widespread uproar and in some cases, makes renowned bodies even in government take action.

On Monday, September 4, a Kenyan on X (formerly Twitter) by the moniker Gesonso1, shared on the platform his critical take on Kenyans who wake up on a Monday morning without a place to go, one that was not taken lying down.

"Ukiona umeamka (When you get up) on a Monday morning na huna place unaenda (and you have nowhere to go) then know you're doing the wrong thing," he wrote.

Ukiona umeamka on a Monday morning na huna place unaenda then know you're doing the wrong thing. — Masao (@Gesonso1) September 4, 2023

The post was viewed by an astonishing 680,700 people by the time of publication and amassed over 1,600 retweets and over 2,700 likes. However the quoted replies were more than the reposts, and in usual Twitter terms, it is a sign that your tweet has led to a backlash.

"One thing we're not going to do today is blame people for being unemployed," Kyalo replied.

"I hope your achievements don't make you think other people are lazy or they're not trying hard enough.

"Never mock someone’s hustle just because yours pays more! Remember, the fight is against poverty, not humanity," Caleb Karuga schooled.

Gesonso1, a young accounting graduate, recently went viral after launching his smokie and mayai pasua business on Twitter, which is hugely popular in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD), having faced job rejections beforehand.

Because of the popularity, the uproar in this case was sustained given that it was KOT who played an integral role in his rise to the top. However, tech experts believe that his tweet was merely a case of sourcing for impressions and engagements, which is called 'rage farming'.

X owner Elon Musk launched the monetization feature to Kenyans in August 2023 during his ongoing restructuring of the social media platform, which requires one to be subscribed to X Premium (Twitter Blue).

Musk introduced X's ad revenue-sharing program as part of his campaign to reward and encourage active users. Through this medium, both X and content creators on the platform will share returns on advertisements.

X calculates the revenue shared with each user based on impressions (the number of times a tweet is seen). When an advertisement appears in a content creator's reply, the number of impressions from verified accounts will determine how much the account is paid.

However, to qualify for X Ads Revenue Sharing, you must be at least 18 years old with at least 500 followers and must be subscribed to X Premium (formerly known as Twitter Blue) or otherwise be a verified organization or affiliate.

You must also have at least five million organic impressions on all your posts each month, for the last three months. If you meet all these requirements, you can apply for the program and get approved to start earning.

Despite the good tidings that might come with monetizing tweets, some users feared that those subscribed to X Premium (with blue ticks) may take advantage of the feature to propagate controversial posts in a desperate attempt to amass thousands of views and impressions, including fake news.

What Is Rage Farming?

Rage farming, or rage-baiting, is internet slang that refers to a manipulative tactic to elicit outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic, online engagement, revenue and support. This is compared to click-bait which refers to sensationalist content on the internet that focuses on attracting click-throughs at the expense of accuracy and quality.

Rage baiting and rage farming manipulate users to respond in kind to offensive, inflammatory "headlines", memes, tropes, or comments. The technique, which has been cited since at least January 2022, is an offshoot of rage-baiting where the outrage of the person being provoked is farmed or manipulated into an online engagement by rage-seeding that helps amplify the message of the original content creator.

Rage baiting or farming can be used as a tool to increase engagement and attract subscribers, followers, and supporters which can be financially lucrative and has often been used by politicians as political tactics at the expense of their opponents, especially during election periods and peak political atmospheres.

The doing away with the exclusivity of the blue tick by Musk and making the feature available to anyone who can pay for it has led to an upsurge of verified accounts and with monetization in place, witnessed an increase in posts (formerly tweets) intended to spark outrage in exchange for views.

X Eroding Content Monetization

In a recent Twitter space hosted by renowned social media expert Janet Machuka, some users argued that those subscribed to X Premium were foregoing the niches they were well known for in exchange for making quick money, even if it meant compromising their brand.

"People are swaying away from the niches they represent because of the ad revenue sharing. But eventually, they’ll go back to their niching," Bravin Yuri shared.

Another factor leading to the increase in rage farming on X is the competition between X Premium users motivated by money, with the content changing in a way that promotes more engagement.

However, some fear that the increase in rage-farmed tweets could lead to a drop in engagements and impressions as more and more users opt to stay away from X, amidst plans by Musk to do away with the block button that could create a toxic atmosphere for users on the social media giant platform.