Abstract
The algorithmic amplification of male-supremacist and anti-feminist rhetoric on short-
form video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts is an increasing concern. Influencers like Andrew Tate and Myron Gaines have built large followings by packaging reactionary talking points within highly marketable “self-help” personas that monetise male insecurity. Their rapid rise among young male audiences raises pressing questions about whether platform recommendation systems actively steer users toward this content. This talk presents findings from a short-term experimental study that tracked algorithmic recommendations delivered to ten controlled “sockpuppet” male accounts on TikTok and YouTube Shorts, exploring the trajectory of recommendations suggested to young male users with diIerent consumption patterns. In addition, the analysis examines how these neo-masculinist influencers frame their messages around motivation, mental health, and wealth accumulation, using formulaic and lucrative “self-improvement” narratives to mainstream more overtly gender-political themes. Building on these findings, This talk discusses the role of algorithmic amplification and the rise of influencer culture in reshaping the contemporary manosphere.
Speaker Bio
Debbie Ging is Professor of Digital Media and Gender in the School of Communications at Dublin City University and Director of the DCU Institute for Research on Genders and Sexualities. She teaches and researches on gender, sexuality and digital media, with a focus on digital hate, online anti-feminist men's rights politics, the incel subculture and radicalisation of boys and men into male supremacist ideologies. Debbie’s research also addresses youth experiences of gender-based and sexual abuse online and educational interventions to tackle these issues.
Dr Catherine Baker is a Research Ireland Postdoctoral Fellow with the Institute for Research on Genders and Sexualities (IRGS) at Dublin City University (DCU)and a Fellow with the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism (IRMS). Catherine has a PhD in
Media and Communications from Loughborough University’s Online Civic Centre. Her research interests include online misogyny, digital platforms, masculinities, educational interventions, algorithmic politics, pseudoscience, and anti-gender movements.
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