Meta Platforms, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) social media platform, Threads, has reportedly been witnessing a rising trend of engagement baiting, a strategy aimed at provoking strong reactions to boost user engagement.

What Happened: Threads' algorithm has been favoring posts with high comment counts, leading to an increase in engagement baiting.

This tactic, although not new and used on platforms like Reddit, results in a unique social media environment compared to platforms that prioritize likes or shares, reported Business Insider.

Engagement baiting can take several forms, including rage baiting, where posts are designed to infuriate users into responding. This tactic has also gained popularity due to its effectiveness in drawing online attention.

On platforms like TikTok, where views can translate into revenue, rage baiting has become a cottage industry, the report noted.

Here are a couple of examples that the Business Insider reporter tried to test this theory:

The results were as expected. The reporter's posts she wrote as an experiment quickly received lots of attention, although it was mostly negative. They also started getting posted on other platforms.

Threads has a bonus program where select creators can earn cash payouts for posts with more than 2,500 views. However, it's unclear who is part of this program, leading to speculation that some posts may be angling for a payout from Meta, the report stated.

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Why It Matters: Threads has been making significant strides in user engagement. In August 2024, Threads reached 200 million active users, a milestone confirmed by Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram.

This achievement came shortly after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned Threads' growing user base during the company's fiscal second-quarter 2024 earnings call.

Previously, Zuckerberg expressed confidence in Threads' future success despite its early popularity reportedly waning. He highlighted Meta's quick learning and experimentation culture, stating that Threads has more active users than at its peak during its launch.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.