Big Tech is Running The Manosphere & We All Seem Fine With It

The manosphere isn't a single, dark corner of the internet like it may once have been.

It’s an entire toxic ecosystem. An umbrella term for the sprawling, spidery network of online communities that connect angry and vulnerable men over a shared hatred of women. 

From the bizarrely ridiculous yet threatening ‘involuntary celibates’ (incels) and the paranoid ‘Men Going Their Own Way’ (MGTOW) to the wealth-obsessed ‘red pill’ influencers and Pick-Up Artists (PUAs) who objectify women and make money teaching other men to do the same, their views and opinions aren’t always illegal. But in Australia, their hate speech is. 

The Attorney-General’s Department states: “There is no place in Australia for hatred or extremism of any kind. Division 80 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 contains a number of criminal offences that protect all Australians from threats of violence. Criminalising these offences also protects their close associates.” 

In the manosphere, r*p* jokes and threats are commonplace, as are doxing, coercion and intimidation. Racism, trans hate and aggressive, right-wing politics (such as supporting Trump and Netanyahu) go with the territory. Subthreads observed by Mavens also appear to indicate manosphere participants obtain a sense of validation and even intellectual superiority from strangers online. 

We won’t fuel your nightmares with content examples, but imagine a child supporting the genocidal right-wing politics of a leader in a country they have never even heard of. 

According to social change organisation Teach Us Consent, it takes just 23 minutes for a social media account mimicking a 16-18 year old boy to be fed misogynistic content, regardless of the account’s viewing preferences.

So if the manosphere is such a hateful place, why are the big social platforms allowed to run it seemingly unchecked?  

How does the manosphere work?

Big tech’s social media algorithms are engineered for engagement above all else, and as such they’re the engine, transmission and accelerator for the manosphere. Men are often sucked into it via innocent queries, according to Kalliopi Mingeirou, Chief of the section for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls at UN Women. 

Mingeirou told UN News in June: “We are seeing an increasing trend of young men and boys looking to influencers for guidance on issues like dating, fitness, and fatherhood. ​​These spaces are really taking advantage of those insecurities and a need for validation…very often circulating messages that are very dismissive of women and girls’ positions in society and are often very misogynistic, portraying a very bad picture of women’s rights activists, for example.” 

It all helps shape ideologies that contribute to gender-based violence, which is why UN Women is so concerned. Yet many of those participating in the manosphere are failing to reconcile what kind of world they’re building for themselves and their daughters. Why?

Author and social commentator Simon Sinek has a compelling rationale: “No one thinks they're evil. Everyone thinks they’re on the side of good. We look at our political discourse these days and... everyone’s accusing each other of being evil and bad but both sides, if you talk to them, actually think that they're trying to do good.” 

If skewed perceptions of what’s ‘good’ is the issue, surely education is the answer. When good people realise they’re causing harm, they’ll change their behaviour, right? As humanists, we choose to hope. 

So, what are we doing about the manosphere, and the lack of control men and boys have over the content they’re fed by social media algorithms? 

The social media ban for under 16s

The eSafety Commission’s social media ban, effective from December 10th 2025, could see social media companies fined up to $49.5 million if they fail to prevent under 16s from using their platforms. It seems to be our government's way of strong-arming socially irresponsible big tech in order to protect our youth. 

But the harms of the manosphere are already in full flight. 

In October, feminist podcaster Abbie Chatfield, who has shared her experiences being relentlessly trolled by misogynists, shared a recount of verbal abuse from a boy aged about ten, in a public space in Sydney. In a video on her Instagram, she expresses disbelief that someone so young could be indoctrinated, and that his guardian failed to reprimand him. It’s a chilling reminder that it’s not just children who are targeted. Many adults are complicit. 

Cheek Media CEO, Gruen Nation panellist and bestselling author Hannah Ferguson believes more is needed to limit extremist material from going mainstream. 

Sharing an Instagram post about the TikTok awards, Ferguson states: "I think the better implementation strategy would have been a duty of care placed on these platforms to prevent harm against all people, not just under 16s. Because all we're doing with prohibition is essentially just limiting when we introduce social media, but it doesn't change the fundamentals of the issue – that we are exposed to extreme material (all of us, on social media) every single day and we need to prevent that, not put the burden on teenagers to prevent that harm.”

Mavens agrees.

The social media ban for under 16s will have little impact on the boys and men beyond that age, who are already contributing to societal regression of gender equity and equality, via their participation (willing or unwitting) in the manosphere. 

Teach Us Consent is calling on the Australian Government to introduce an opt-in feature for social media algorithms ‘so we can bring affirmative consent to our screens, and turn our feeds on and off at will.’ 

It’s a much-needed reform. The wild west of Silicon Valley has gone too far, and algorithmic transparency and regulation is direly needed if we don’t want to regress as a society. 

The impacts of the manosphere 

UN Women notes that with 5.5 billion people online, digital platforms are also being weaponised to spread misogyny and hate. According to Amnesty International, 73% of Gen Z social-media users have misogynistic content online, with 70% saying they believe misogynistic language and content are increasing. 

And according to the Movember Foundation, two-thirds of young men regularly engage with masculinity influencers online. Due to algorithmic favour, the most reaching (and therefore profitable) of them are likely to be toxic. The global influence of Andrew Tate is case in point. 

Broadly speaking, the manosphere promotes claims that men are the oppressed gender in a society rigged against them, often blaming women and gender equality for their personal failures and social discontent. They package emotional control, wealth, and dominance as the only markers of ‘real male worth,’ and they spread this harmful rhetoric across social media platforms. 

Included in the Under 16s social media ban are TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitch, Kick, X, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. 

None of these companies are majority-owned, or have been founded and controlled, by women.

If they were, would they still allow their algorithms to promote hate and division in exchange for attention, which equates to money and power? 

With women receiving only 0.5% of venture capital funding in Australia (Smart Company, 2025) and only 2.3% globally (Founders Forum Group, 2025), it’s unlikely that we’ll see a mainstream, women-owned social media platform soon enough to know. 

How can the communications industry stand up for humanity? 

It’s time we acknowledged that the manosphere is no longer an underground forum phenomenon. It's a mainstream content factory that has weaponised the algorithms of big tech, and the companies driving it are doing so willingly. 

The resulting violence, sexism and societal regression are not accidental glitches. They are direct, profitable outcomes of a system built by men, for profit, that views the radicalisation of young men, and its impact on women and marginalised genders, as acceptable collateral damage. 

How the communications industry can take action 

Use your purse power to demand better: In 2025, the projected global ad spend for TikTok alone is $32.4 billion (World Advertising Research Center). This kind of money means that when our leaders speak, tech companies listen. 

Educate widely: Use your voice and platforms to educate your workmates, friends and loved ones about the truth behind the manosphere. Work with client partners to shape communications that portray healthy and positive masculinity. 

Hire and promote women and allies. We need leaders who take social responsibility seriously, and aim to minimise harm in our pursuit of client success. Hire them, promote them and shape team cultures that ensure women’s safety and allow positive masculinity to thrive. 

Sign Teach Us Consent’s ‘Fix Our Feeds’ petition here. 

Image: Unsplash