{"id":1235,"date":"2025-12-29T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leondijksman.nl\/niet-gecategoriseerd\/the-brussels-method-how-influencers-hack-algorithms-with-negativity\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T17:56:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T15:56:23","slug":"the-brussels-method-how-influencers-hack-algorithms-with-negativity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leondijksman.nl\/en\/trends\/the-brussels-method-how-influencers-hack-algorithms-with-negativity\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Brussels Method’: How influencers hack algorithms with negativity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recently, I saw a TikTok video by a traveling influencer showing footage of Brussels North Station accompanied by dramatic music. The text on screen? “Welcome to the worst city in Europe.”<\/em> As someone who loves Brussels and is fascinated by marketing, I immediately knew what was happening: I wasn’t watching an honest travelogue, but a perfectly executed piece of Rage Baiting<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

The anatomy of a ‘hate-click’<\/h3>\n\n

Influencers have discovered that a video praising a city to the skies often gets stuck at a few thousand views. But claim that a capital city is a “hellhole,” and the counter skyrockets. <\/p>\n\n

Why? Because as humans, we are programmed to respond to injustice and negativity. <\/p>\n\n

    \n
  1. The proud local:<\/strong> Residents of Brussels flock to the comments in massive numbers to defend their city.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The algorithm confirmation:<\/strong> The algorithm sees thousands of comments and thinks: “This is relevant content!”<\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The virality spiral:<\/strong> The video is pushed to even more people, which in turn leads to more angry reactions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    From a marketing perspective<\/strong>, this is a cynical form of ‘engagement hacking’. The quality of the interaction (anger) does not matter; only the quantity counts for advertising revenue. <\/p>\n\n

    \n

    A city like Brussels is reduced to a ‘thumbnail’ to generate clicks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

    Technology as a catalyst for a one-sided image<\/h3>\n\n

    What makes this interesting from a tech standpoint<\/strong> is how the interface of platforms like TikTok encourages this behavior. Due to the short attention span, there is no room for nuance. An influencer deliberately films the 1% of a city that looks bad and presents it as the 100%. <\/p>\n\n

    A city like Brussels is reduced to a ‘thumbnail’ to generate clicks, without considering the reputational damage to the local economy or tourism.<\/p>\n\n

    What can we learn from this? (The Management lesson) <\/h3>\n\n

    In my work in management and marketing<\/strong>, we often emphasize authenticity<\/em> and brand value<\/em>. However, the ‘City Slander’ trend shows the dark side: in the short term, you win clicks (quantity), but in the long term, you lose your credibility (quality). <\/p>\n\n

    If you become known as a ‘travel creator’ who only spews negativity for views, you eventually become a parody of yourself. You are not building a community, but an audience of disaster tourists. <\/p>\n\n

    Look beyond the ‘bait’<\/h3>\n\n

    The next time you see a video that completely tears down a city (or a company, or a person), ask yourself: Am I being informed here, or am I being used for someone’s engagement ratio?<\/em><\/p>\n\n

    Brussels certainly has its challenges. But a city is more than the worst street near the station. Let us as consumers be smarter than the algorithm and stop feeding the ‘rage bait’. <\/p>\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An influencer deliberately films the 1% of a city that looks bad and presents it as the 100%.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[118,107],"tags":[155,154,153],"class_list":{"0":"post-1235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marketing","8":"category-trends","9":"tag-city-slander","10":"tag-hate-click","11":"tag-rage-baiting-2","12":"cs-entry"},"yoast_head":"\nThe 'Brussels Method': How influencers hack algorithms with negativity - L\u00e9on Dijksman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leondijksman.nl\/en\/trends\/the-brussels-method-how-influencers-hack-algorithms-with-negativity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 'Brussels Method': How influencers hack algorithms with negativity - 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