Manosphere content ‘best understood’ like smoking ads for children, Lancet paper says

MANOSPHERE online content is “best understood” as a public health issue, like smoking or fast-food adverts aimed at children, according to a Lancet study. By framing men’s problems as the result of feminism rather than structural conditions, social media platforms and influencers are profiting from violence against women and girls and mental health problems while “delegitimising” the idea of seeking help, says the research. “The harms to boys and men, to women and girls, and to wider society, provide a clear basis for action,” added the report by social justice think tank Global 50/50. “Similar to the tobacco and ultra-processed food industries, content creators and hosting platforms deploy strategies that individualise responsibility. “Efforts to regulate or moderate content are frequently framed as threats to men’s autonomy, restricting political space for intervention. “Reducing these harms requires addressing the societal and economic conditions, commercial structures and social norms that sustain the appeal of the manosphere. “This is a political, legal, economic and social challenge demanding co-ordinated, sustained action on multiple fronts — a public health framing can unlock such an approach.” Study co-author Professor Kent Buse said: “This is a business model, not a fringe. “Expect the playbook that served tobacco so well — blame the individual and call regulation an attack on freedom.” Co-author Professor Sarah Hawkes said: “A response that only removes the manosphere, without offering something credible in its place, will fail. We need to offer boys something better, not just tell them what to avoid.” The manosphere was popularised by social media influencers including self-described misogynist Andrew Tate, who remains in US custody over alleged rape, human trafficking and tax evasion. As Ash Regan’s Unbuyable Bill sparks debate in Scotland, the real issue remains unaddressed: a digitalised sex industry and a neoliberal economy that repackages exploitation as empowerment while leaving women’s material conditions unchanged, argues LAUREN HARPER