Manosphere should be treated as a public health problem, a Lancet report argues

What the report argues

Academics have argued in a new report published in The Lancet that the manosphere should be treated as a public health problem, with the harms caused online addressed in a way similar to the tobacco industry. The authors describe it as a commercial ecosystem and loose network of online communities built around beliefs about masculinity, misogyny and male victimisation. They say the movement centres on a claimed crisis of masculinity and a shared view that feminism has systematically disadvantaged men. On this account, the problem is a set of health harms rather than only a matter of online debate.

Harms identified

The authors link the movement to violence against women and girls and to mental health problems. They also say it discourages boys and men from seeking help, which the report describes as delegitimising help-seeking. Outrage and grievance are profitable in this online environment, the authors argue, and boys and young men are particularly exposed because their insecurities can be cultivated and then turned into revenue. The report says men's problems are blamed on feminism rather than on structural conditions, and that masculine identity is packaged into merchandise and paid content.

Comparison with tobacco and food industries

The report compares the tactics of content creators and hosting platforms with those of the tobacco and ultra-processed food industries, saying both push responsibility onto individuals. It warns that efforts to regulate or moderate content are often presented as threats to men's autonomy, which the authors say narrows the room for intervention. They argue regulation should target the online platforms rather than the users. The model they point to is the ban on tobacco advertising aimed at children, which hits the industry instead of criminalising smokers.

Proposed response

The authors call for a coordinated response from governments, schools, health services and community organisations, treating the issue as they would any other public health risk. They propose better employment prospects, skills access, re-engaging boys in education, and equitable access to mental health and frontline health services designed to reach young men. They also advise against casting masculinity as toxic at its core or portraying boys and men as flawed by nature in communications. Another recommended step is strengthening existing content moderation to restrict harmful online environments.