Opinion: The manosphere is no joke. Now is time to act on digital misogyny

For many women and girls, what begins as a meme can too often end in menace.

Across the internet, an aggressive and organized backlash against women’s rights is flourishing — and it’s reaching young people faster than governments or global development institutions have been able to put in place measures to counter it. The “manosphere” — a loosely connected network of influencers, forums, and content creators promoting deeply misogynistic views — is no longer fringe. It’s fueling real-world harm and undermining hard-won progress on gender equality worldwide.

Online misogyny is not new. Social media platforms have been used since their creation to express anti-women rhetoric, reinforce discriminatory gender roles, and normalize violence against women.