Online spaces that fuel misogyny and grievance should be treated as a public health threat — and confronted with the same kind of playbook used against Big Tobacco — according to academics behind a new report.
The authors describe 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 the movement, built around a purported crisis of masculinity and the belief that feminism has systematically disadvantaged men, is linked to a range of harms that extend well beyond the internet.
Among the consequences cited are violence against women and girls, mental health problems, and the way such content can end up “delegitimising” boys and men seeking help.
In the report’s assessment, platforms and influencers thrive by turning anger into revenue — with boys and young men, in particular, encouraged to dwell on insecurity that is then monetised.
Published in medical journal The Lancet, the report says: “Similar to the tobacco and ultra processed food industries, content creators and hosting platforms deploy strategies that individualise responsibility.
“Men’s problems are framed as the result of feminism rather than structural conditions, and masculine identity is commodified through products and paid content that normalise and reinforce health-harming and performance-oriented masculinities.
“Efforts to regulate or moderate content are frequently framed as threats to men’s autonomy, restricting political space for intervention.”
The authors argue that any serious response must address the underlying pressures that can make boys and young men more vulnerable to these online narratives, including educational marginalisation, social exclusion and isolation.
They say that means practical interventions: boosting employment prospects, building skills that improve access to jobs, bringing boys back into education, and ensuring “equitable access to mental health and other frontline health services” designed to reach this group.
The authors argued the manosphere ‘is best understood and addressed as a public health problem’
Rather than treating the issue as a niche internet subculture, the report urges a coordinated effort by governments, schools, health services and community organisations — the kind of joined-up approach typically reserved for major public health risks.
It also cautions against messaging that alienates the very people most exposed to manosphere content, recommending communication strategies that avoid “framing masculinity as inherently toxic or boys and men as inherently problematic”.
Regulation, the authors add, should target the platforms and systems that amplify harmful material, not the individuals consuming it — comparing the approach to restrictions on tobacco advertising aimed at children rather than criminalising smokers.
The report states the manosphere “is best understood and addressed as a public health problem”.
It says regulation should include “strengthening existing content moderation to restrict harmful environments and harnessing the power of algorithms to promote positive messaging and norms alongside regulation of the structural features that sustain harm”.
Professor Sarah Hawkes, a co-author and co-founder of the Global 50/50 social justice think tank, said the appeal of these spaces should not be dismissed, particularly for young men looking for answers.
“The manosphere offers boys and young men belonging, identity and an explanation for why life feels hard.
“Those needs are real. 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.”
Fellow co-author Professor Kent Buse, affiliated with the Department of Global Population Health at Monash University Malaysia, said the focus should be on the commercial incentives built into the ecosystem, not on blaming boys and men.
He said: “This is a business model, not a fringe. Outrage and grievance are good for business, so the system rewards the most extreme content.
“Expect the playbook that served tobacco so well: blame the individual and call regulation an attack on freedom.
“Public health has a tested toolkit for commercial harms and we should use it.”
Professor Buse said boys and men “are not the problem”, adding: “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 concludes that the evidence points to the need for urgent, sustained action, warning that damage is being felt across society.
“The harms to boys and men, to women and girls, and to wider society, provide a clear basis for action.
“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 coordinated, sustained action on multiple fronts – a public health framing can unlock such an approach.”
‘Consider the wider environments’
Mark Brooks, from the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys charity, welcomed the report’s emphasis on public health, saying it reflects the reality that online harms affect men and boys as well as women and girls.
“We’re extremely pleased to see this report classifying this as a public health issue and making the really important point that men and boys are targets for online harms as well as women and girls.”
Mr Brooks said that “too often” debates about the manosphere “represents men and boys as being the problem without taking into account the broader economic, education and cultural challenges that drive their engagement”.
Separate research, also published in The Lancet, examined how patriarchal expectations around masculinity can undermine men’s health, and argued that online stories of male grievance are gaining traction in part because of a lack of support elsewhere.
Professor of Urology Jim Catto at the University of Sheffield, the author, said: “These findings highlight why we need to look beyond individual behaviour and consider the wider environments that shape men’s attitudes and actions.
“Tackling the online influence of the manosphere should be part of a broader public health conversation about how we support men and address the social factors affecting their health.”
British Minister for Human Rights, with responsibility for Men and Boys, Jake Richards said the report underscored the urgency of confronting harmful online content and its wider consequences.
“This report lays bare the impact of toxic online influences and why action is needed now.
“This is not just an issue for men and boys – it is a wider societal challenge.
“As the first minister for men and boys, I’m determined to drive this issue up the national agenda, dismantle the manosphere, and give young men the opportunities and role models they need to thrive.
“This all goes hand-in-hand with our work to tackle violence against women and girls and create safer communities for everyone.”
