Health · Public Health & Disease · 4 hrs ago
UK experts urge public health response to online misogyny
UK experts say the government should treat the manosphere and online misogyny as public health issues.
In a paper in the medical journal The Lancet, they call for a coordinated response involving government, schools, health services and community groups.
The manosphere is a loose network of online communities and businesses that share beliefs about masculinity, misogyny and men being victimised.
The authors say the industry profits by promoting extreme misogyny and resentment.
They argue that loneliness, money worries, social exclusion and disengagement from education can make some boys and men more open to these communities.
The online groups can offer belonging and explanations for hardship, while blaming women and feminism.
The authors say action should address the conditions behind that vulnerability and offer boys credible alternatives, rather than simply trying to remove the communities.
UK experts have urged the government to treat online misogyny and the manosphere as public health issues.
Writing in The Lancet, the report’s authors call for a coordinated response involving governments, schools, health services and community organisations.
They describe the manosphere as a commercial ecosystem of online communities united by beliefs about masculinity, misogyny and male victimisation.
The authors say isolation, money worries and social exclusion can make young men more vulnerable to communities that blame women and feminism.
They argue that responses should offer boys and young men credible alternatives, rather than only trying to remove the manosphere.
- Who
- UK experts and authors of a report in The Lancet.
- What
- They say the government should treat the manosphere and online misogyny as public health issues.
- When
- The report’s authors made the case in a report published in The Lancet. The article was published on 29 October 2026.
- Where
- The United Kingdom; the report was published in The Lancet.
- Why
- The authors say online communities can exploit isolation and insecurity, reinforce misogyny and promote health-harming ideas about masculinity.
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- Publication
- The Lancet
- Proposed response
- Coordinated action by governments, schools, health services and community organisations
- Report co-author
- Prof Kent Buse
- Report co-author
- Prof Sarah Hawkes
- Supporting organisation
- Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys
What people are saying
This is a business model, not a fringe.
We need to offer boys something better, not just tell them what to avoid.
Not all men and boys engage with this content equally.