Intentionally triggering, offensive and outrageous videos about Australian migrant communities are proliferating online. But the videos aren't real — they're AI-generated — and the networks profiting off them are based overseas.
In November 2025, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in the UK identified 126 Facebook pages forming a coordinated network targeting audiences in the UK, but based in Sri Lanka. The network publishes anti-migrant and anti-government AI-generated content, and reaches over 1.6 million people.
Researchers concluded the operation appeared to be "purely profit-driven" rather than political. One user associated with the network was even running online courses about monetisation tools on Meta, teaching others how to earn money from social media posts.
Recently, AAP FactCheck identified a similar network targeting Australia.
This phenomenon has been described as the "outrage" or "rage bait" economy.
Professor Mark Andrejevic from the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University told SBS Examines this type of content flourishes online.
The kind of normal social controls that would temper people's behaviour are absent in the online environment.Professor Mark Andrejevic, Monash university
"And it turns out that you can monetise that fact. And it turns out that platforms can turn a big profit off of distributing this kind of content," he said.
What exactly is the outrage economy? And what can be done about it?
In this episode of SBS Examines, we look at the outrage economy, and how existing social tensions are being exploited by foreign malicious actors to drive profits.
