Last week, the combined codependent dysfunctional threesome that is the political sphere, the media apparatus, and the not-so-real world of social media found the source of its latest orgy of outrage content: Cracker Barrel.

Yes, Cracker Barrel, the family restaurant that day or night, will provide you with homemade-ish meals, the triangle game, and a year-round opportunity to buy Christmas ornaments. How did it cause an uproar? By refreshing its menu, redecorating a few stores that, as CBS News put it, “eschew the 55-year-old chain’s old-timey approach,” and, worst of all, changing its logo. Gone was the old man, barrel, and whip emanating from the restaurant’s K, replaced by modern and admittedly heartless “Cracker Barrel” text against a gold background.

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And people, many of whom have never set foot in a Cracker Barrel, lost their minds, seeing it as yet another “woke” move by a corporation and even a personal affront to Donald Trump himself. The company’s stock price plunged as conservative influencers enjoyed a self-prescribed victory lap.

Now, is the old logo better than the new logo? Yes. But is this also evidence of clickbait outrage theater that views literally any change in American life? Absolutely. With that in mind, there’s something else here we need to be aware of that goes far beyond the predictable outrage machine that has taken over the political and cultural space: it’s that companies know exactly how to exploit the crowd of mindless influencers we have apparently deemed to be our online thought leaders.

Because what did Cracker Barrel do? Just days after announcing the new logo, which would have taken all of 30 seconds to make on Photoshop, it announced a complete reversal. The old logo, menu, and restaurant decor were back. Oh, and so was their stock price, along with millions (if not billions) of eyeballs that were suddenly locked onto the Cracker Barrel brand.

You don’t think every other business in the United States of America is taking notes?

President Donald Trump—the ultimate marketing expert—even foresaw this in his Truth Social post about Cracker Barrel’s rebrand, noting that the restaurant could get “a Billion Dollars’ worth of free publicity if they play their cards right… very tricky to do, but a great opportunity,” he added.

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Except the president is only half right. It’s a great opportunity, but it is spectacularly easy to do. Here’s the new algorithm for marketing success in Trump’s America: announce some form of rebrand, whether it be a logo change, name change, or change of product or service. Remember: no change is too small. Then, our ever-hungry crowd of influencers—and the politicians and media figures who parrot them like asinine drones—will churn out post after post, video after video, article after article detailing how even the tiniest change is actually the next Dylan Mulvaney attempting to destroy America from within. Everyone will be talking about your company overnight, and all you have to do next is not change, and your enemies are suddenly your friends again, as they claim victory. You both count the cash you raked in from the latest artificial scandal.

Victimhood used to be the currency of our culture. Now, it’s outrage, and when outrage is the currency, beware of those who profit from it most.

Ian is a syndicated columnist. Follow him on X (@ighaworth) or Substack.