A new BBC Eye investigation examines how social media algorithms are helping manosphere influencers.
It seems that they assist them in building large audiences and shape attitudes towards gender, relationships and masculinity across different parts of the world.
The BBC World Service documentary follows reporter Jacqui Wakefield as she spends a year investigating two influential figures in the movement: Mexican content creator El Temach and Kenyan commentator Andrew Kibe.
Together, they reach millions of followers through social media platforms, live events, books, merchandise and other revenue streams.
The investigation focuses on the impact this content is having on women and young men. Women interviewed by the BBC described experiencing changes in partners and classmates who had become devoted followers of manosphere content.
Some linked the material directly to controlling behaviour, hostility towards women and growing gender divisions.
Jacqui also explores the commercial side of the movement. The BBC reports that Andrew Kibe has built a business around books, merchandise and a cryptocurrency, while El Temach generates income through livestreams, live events and paid online interactions.
Using social media analysis tools, the BBC estimates El Temach may have earned up to $1.5 million from social media views alone.
A significant part of the investigation examines how recommendation algorithms can guide users towards increasingly polarised content.
The BBC was given access to the social media histories of young followers in Mexico and Kenya, revealing how feeds that initially featured self improvement, fitness and personal development content evolved towards more extreme material about women and masculinity.
Gender, sexuality and security studies expert Dr Awino Okech told the BBC that such influencers are connecting with young men facing real challenges, including unemployment and mental health concerns.
She argues that women are often presented as the cause of problems that stem from wider social and economic issues.
Jacqui Wakefield said: “Through meeting devoted fans in a nightclub in Kenya to a live event in Las Vegas and even being told misogyny doesn’t exist by an influencer, I saw first hand how what begins online can have real, global consequences for women.”
BBC Eye Investigations is available on BBC Sounds and podcast platforms. It will also air on BBC World Service radio and is available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC World Service YouTube channel.
