Anatomy of an Internet Scandal: How Content Creators and Followers Feed the Outrage Machine

That famous--or infamous--"spontaneous" viral video isn't as random as you think.

Every day on TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms, someone, somewhere does something scandalous that suddenly seems to be everywhere. Within hours, it's dissected, memed, remixed, and monetized. Each viral scandal feels random, unpredictable, and impossible to anticipate.

But most viral moments follow recognizable patterns. They emerge through specific social contexts, spread in predictable ways, an...