Treat the manosphere like tobacco: experts say online misogyny is a public health issue
The online "manosphere" and misogyny should be treated as a public health problem, like smoking or obesity, according to a report in the medical journal the Lancet. Its authors call for a coordinated response from governments, schools, health services and communities.
A report published in the Lancet argues that governments should respond to the manosphere the way public health has responded to tobacco and ultra-processed food: with coordinated action involving schools, health services and community organisations, not just warnings to individuals.
The authors define the manosphere as "a diffuse commercial ecosystem and loose collection of online communities united by shared beliefs about masculinity, misogyny and male victimisation". They say it has become a lucrative industry that makes money by promoting the most extreme forms of misogyny and "aggrieved masculinity", selling products and paid content to young men.
"This is a business model, not a fringe. Outrage and grievance are good for business, so the system rewards the most extreme content," said co-author Kent Buse, co-founder of the think tank Global 50/50. "Boys and men are not the problem. The problem is the conditions that leave them isolated and without a secure future, and the companies that profit from their anger and insecurity."
The report links the appeal of these communities to loneliness, money worries, social exclusion and boys' growing disengagement from education, which can leave young men looking for a sense of belonging online.