Engagement‑baiting as political influence career

Some social media actors build durable political influence by optimizing provocation and constant posting for engagement rather than offering expertise or coherent ideology. Their income, alliances (with platform owners or wealthy patrons), and reach come from attention metrics and platform prestige, not traditional credentials. — This matters because it reframes political influence as a monetizable, platform‑driven career that can distort public debate and accountability.

Sources

Ugly Girls Need to Eat Too

Kristin McTiernan 2026.03.27 86% relevant

The article explicitly argues many manosphere actors (named examples: Andrew Tate, Tristan, Justin Waller and platform clusters like 'Trad Cath' and 'Theo Bros') post extreme gender prescriptions to 'maximize impressions' and monetize attention, directly illustrating engagement‑bait tactics as a route to political/cultural influence.

The Age of Ian Miles Cheong

Ben Sixsmith 2026.03.16 100% relevant

Ian Miles Cheong’s six tweets an hour, million followers, public praise from Elon Musk, and past accusations of shilling and opportunism in the article.