The manosphere is a loosely connected online ecosystem that exists on a diffused array of sites across both mainstream social media and more bespoke corners of the internet. Despite differences within the community, the manosphere shares a common language under the banner of “Red Pill” ideology. The Red Pill ideology is a collection of anti-feminist beliefs, with its more extreme interpretation embracing hostile misogyny. “Taking the red pill” signifies opening one’s eyes to feminism’s “brainwashing.” Although the manosphere originated in the Western world, its ideals have diffused globally, and growing hostile misogyny is a global issue.

Andrew Tate, the former kickboxer and the so-called “king of toxic masculinity,” is ubiquitous in this community. Tate faces a number of criminal charges and is currently banned on most mainstream social media sites. Nevertheless, his content still regularly appears on these sites, and at his peak his videos had amassed hundreds of millions of views on TikTok, reaching teens as young as 13.

While not every part of this community receives this level of attention or notoriety, Tate’s popularity shows that parts of the manosphere have entered the mainstream. The mainstreaming of misogynistic notions is not only a societal or gender concern; it has a direct impact on the extremism landscape and can act as a driver of extremist violence. The question now is what can be done about countering these extremist views at a policy level.

Andrew Tate inside an appeals court in Bucharest, Romania, on Dec. 10, 2024. Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images

Feelings of self-uncertainty, where an individual experiences anxiety about their place in the world, have been shown to contribute to a desire for individuals to seek new forms of meaning and purpose in their life, engage in social activism, and at the most extreme, political violence.

This lens provides us with at least a partial explanation of male engagement with the manosphere. A central motif of Tate’s discourse is one that offers not only a way to understand feelings of alienation but additionally offers solutions to address it. Tate weaponizes the language of self-help and advice and seemingly offers men a way of becoming successful and accumulating wealth. In the context of anxiety and disconnection, a pathway toward status and success can appeal to men. Importantly, however, underpinning this “advice” are traditional understandings of masculinity and femininity. Tate promotes traditional gender stereotypes of women as passive actors, and in fact, in Tate’s worldview women are subordinate and subservient to men. As men are attracted to promises of success, they simultaneously are exposed to a misogynistic agenda.

These sentiments of male victimhood, and the promotion of traditional gender roles, are shared and, in some cases, exceeded by the wider manosphere community. Within segments of the community a zero-sum clash is posited that notes how female empowerment must necessarily equate to male disempowerment. Portraying society as gynocentric and misandrist, these segments of the manosphere aim to “free” men from a society negatively impacted by feminism. As engagement with the manosphere increases, a key concern lies in this diagnosis.

Of particular concern is the fact that there is a pathway from exposure and engagement with these more malicious expressions of the manosphere to offline extremist violence. The radicalization process is one of incremental but self-reinforcing behavior. By offering a sense of meaning, extremist movements can be attractive to vulnerable individuals. Once within an extremist ecosystem, content is consumed that promotes black-and-white thinking, in- and out-group dichotomies, and an often existential threat faced by the in-group due to action taken by the out-group. Over time, this worldview establishes itself as a fixed belief, which in turn motivates action.

This danger is further compounded by the online environment and the echo-chamber effect of algorithmic technology. An echo chamber is an environment that substantially narrows the range of information that an individual is exposed to. This restricted narrative produces a limited worldview and results in a one-sided and obsessive experience of social reality. Exacerbating this concern is the potential of unmoderated exposure to misinformation and disinformation, and its ability to alter “truth,” that can take place online. While this can happen across the political spectrum, when this process intersects with extremist narratives, it can result in an accelerated and deeply entrenched radicalization process.

Men who are feeling a sense of vulnerability look toward the manosphere as a community that provides them with an understanding, purpose, and direction that undercuts their uncertainty. From this initial engagement, an individual can become exposed to the more vitriolic segments of this community. A toxic tapestry of dangerous misogynistic ideologies is facilitated and solidified by the internet’s echo-chamber effect, and a continuous loop is created, which shares, encourages, and celebrates a hostile misogynistic agenda that promotes an anti-feminist belief system and in some cases violence against women. Over time, this becomes an individual’s fixed belief system.

The clearest example of this trend is within the incel community. Although most members of the community will not become violent, individuals who engage with this online manosphere sub-community have adopted a worldview that legitimates and at times glorifies violent action. The term “going ER” is common within incel discourses, referring to, and potentially outright deifying, Elliot Rodger, a reported incel who carried out a violent attack in 2014 in California. Rodger, referred to as the “Supreme Gentleman” within incel forums, has acted as the inspiration for Alek Minassian, who in 2018 perpetrated an attack in Toronto that injured 15 and killed 11 people—nine of whom were women. In the same year, Scott Beierle, who committed an attack in Tallahassee that killed two and injured five others, likened himself to Rodger in an online video. Incel ideology has been linked to multiple other incidents, such as the 2020 Toronto erotic spa knife attack, the 2020 Westgate mall massacre, the 2021 Plymouth attack, and the 2023 Texas mall shooting.

More generally, at least 15 violent incidents in Western countries between 2009 and 2022 that resulted in 58 deaths included hostile misogyny as part of their motivating ideology. While more clear-cut incidents of incel violence have been concentrated in the Western world, this is not to say that it is solely a Western concern. Given that a link between hostile misogynistic beliefs and support for extremist action more broadly has been noted, global expressions of the ideology can be motivating violence even if it does not fall neatly into our existing understanding of extremist violence. So while hostile misogyny is not new, its interplay with extremist occurrence is arguably becoming more acute.

The shadow of a student is seen on a wall painted with a slogan reading “Here to study, not to be attacked” as students gather at Bordeaux Montaigne University to discuss revelations of allegations of inappropriate behavior including sexual violence in Pessac, France, on Nov. 15, 2023. Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

However, this should be seen as a last resort. Rather, efforts should be made at addressing this concern at earlier stages. Here, the role social media plays in the radicalization process should be highlighted. On TikTok, for example, new accounts saw a fourfold increase in the level of misogynistic content being presented on their “For You” page after five days. These algorithmically curated echo chambers do not merely reflect existing interests; they actively shape ideological exposure and accelerate grievance-based radicalization. While TikTok’s algorithm is notably efficient in curating personalized content, which can include harmful and extremist material, it’s part of a broader ecosystem where multiple platforms contribute to the spread of such content.

Given their role in this process, technology companies must be held accountable not only for harmful individual content but for the structural features of their platforms that incentivize polarizing and harmful engagement. Regulatory efforts should shift focus toward algorithmic transparency and reform, aiming to restructure digital ecosystems toward user wellbeing. These efforts are already underway, with Europe currently leading with the Digital Services Act. What’s more, parallel efforts in the United Kingdom and United States signal a shift toward reengineering platforms to protect user wellbeing, especially for youth. However, gaps still remain, with harmful and dangerous content still widely accessible to users.

In the shorter term, although age-based social media bans such as Australia’s forthcoming restriction for users under 16 can offer a stopgap, they are not a silver bullet. Such restrictions risk pushing vulnerable youth into more obscure, less regulated online spaces, while also severing them from the positive social connections digital platforms can foster. Instead, robust and holistic digital literacy programs that build critical media engagement, resilience to extremist narratives, and awareness of the dynamics of online radicalization should be prioritized.

Crucially, the appeal of the manosphere cannot be addressed solely through technological or regulatory measures. Much of its traction lies in a broader sense of male vulnerability, fueled by social and cultural anxieties around identity, power, and belonging. To address these drivers, governments and civil society must invest in educational and community-based initiatives that challenge harmful gender norms and promote healthier, more inclusive models of masculinity. Without comprehensive engagement that addresses both the technological and sociocultural dimensions of this phenomenon, hostile misogynistic ideas will continue to motivate violent behavior.