The Wheeler Centre

When outrage equals engagement and our worst impulses are being targeted, gamed and monetised, is it too late to escape the rage-bait machine? Social media is no longer a platform for connection – it’s a gladiatorial arena powered by an addictive mix of anger and entertainment. As a result, we’re being driven apart: our politics more extreme and empathy on the decline, while those who know how to game the outrage economy for clicks only become more powerful and influential. In this illuminating session, pioneer communications expert and the strategist behind GetUp! – Australia's first major online political movement – Ed Coper sits down to unmask the architects of this new power. From manosphere gurus and tech oligarchs to political demagogues and corporate giants, he reveals how social media has evolved into an outrage machine that feeds on scandals, spectacle, extremism and notoriety to bait us into constant engagement. Join Coper as he explains how angertainment has co-opted our social media feeds and taken over our lives, in conversation with Sushi Das.