UN warns online misogyny rising with toxic ‘manosphere’

Women and girls are feeling less comfortable to be exposed to the risks and threats when they engage in digital platforms, according to UN Women.

A growing network of online communities known collectively as the “manosphere” is emerging as a serious threat to gender equality, as toxic digital spaces increasingly influence real-world attitudes, behaviours, and policies, the UN agency dedicated to ending gender discrimination has warned.

With more than 5.5 billion people connected online – nearly all of them active on social media – digital platforms have become central to how people interact, UN Women highlights.

However, they are also being weaponised to spread misogyny and hate. Once confined to fringe internet forums, the manosphere now reaches into schoolyards, workplaces, and is sometimes upending intimate personal relationships.

“We are seeing an increasing trend of young men and boys looking to influencers for guidance on issues like dating, fitness, and fatherhood,” said Kalliopi Mingeirou, Chief of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Section at UN Women.

Looking for answers to feel more secure about themselves, these boys encounter “strength” in online communities that also promote harmful attitudes that distort masculinity and fuel misogyny.

“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,” Ms Mingeirou told UN News.

According to the Movember Foundation, a leading men’s health organisation and partner of UN Women, two-thirds of young men regularly engage with masculinity influencers online.

While some content offers genuine support, much of it promotes extreme language and sexist ideology, reinforcing the idea that men are victims of feminism and modern social change.

The most recent UN Secretary-General’s report on violence against women and girls notes that groups within the manosphere are united in their rejection of feminism and their portrayal of women as manipulative or dangerous.

These narratives are increasingly being amplified by social media algorithms that reward provocative and polarising content.

Stressing that anonymity makes amplification of sexist and hate speech on platforms easier, Ms Mingeirou said the abuse not only damages mental and physical wellbeing but also poses “a serious risk for democracy in general.”

“Women and girls are feeling less comfortable to be exposed to the risks and threats when they engage on digital platforms – and we often see women journalists, women politicians who tend to not engage because they are afraid of the impact it has on them.”

Underlining that stereotypes create anxiety and harm boys and men alike, Ms Mingeirou added that safe spaces need to be created, so everyone can look for guidance without being subjected to harmful content.

The manosphere’s toxic narratives are no longer confined to obscure online spaces. Their influence is seeping into broader culture and politics, trivialising gender-based violence and reinforcing discriminatory stereotypes.

In extreme cases, these ideologies intersect with other forms of radicalisation, including racism, homophobia, and authoritarianism. Misogyny online quickly becomes misogyny offline.

“We have growing evidence that in some of the community mass shootings or extreme incidents against the community, very often the perpetrators were also heavily engaged in such misogynistic online platforms, conveying messaging connecting with broader ideologies that put all of us at risk,” Ms Mingeirou continued.

These communities do not all speak with one voice, but they are united in portraying feminism as dangerous, women as manipulative, and men as victims of social change. Their ideas are gaining ground, particularly among boys and young men, amplified by algorithms that prioritise sensational and extreme content. The manosphere’s narratives are no longer confined to niche corners of the internet. They are shaping how people think, how they vote, and how they treat others.

With more than 5.5 billion people connected online, digital platforms have become central to how people interact.

As the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Women is warning that the rise of online misogyny poses a direct threat to the progress made toward gender equality.

In response, the agency is scaling up efforts to counter toxic digital environments. Their multi-pronged approach includes:

Research and data collection on the spread and impact of online hate

Policy advocacy for digital safety and regulation

Support for survivors of online abuse

Public education campaigns challenging toxic masculinity

Youth-focused programming aimed at building digital resilience and promoting gender equality

Calling on the media to take a more active role in addressing this issue

Ultimately, education is one of the most effective tools for dismantling the foundation of misogynistic ideology. Talking to children and adolescents about gender equality, healthy relationships, and digital citizenship is crucial to preventing harmful attitudes from taking root.

“It’s not just about protecting girls,” Ms Mingeirou said. “It’s about creating a world where boys and girls alike can grow up free from the toxic pressures of harmful gender expectations.”