Who are the toxic influencers (not only) from the male internet scene that parents should watch out for?
Andrew Tate
Probably the most famous personality of the manosphere. A self-described "misogynist" (i.e. an enemy of women), he has in the past declared that "virgins are the only acceptable option for marriage" and called women who do not want to have children "poor, stupid cows". He faces rape charges from four women in the UK who have taken civil action against him.
Tate has been blocked on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, but his videos continue to go viral - with his fans re-uploading them. In his outtakes, he promotes "masculinity", tough discipline, entrepreneurial settings and a tough attitude towards women. On the X network (formerly Twitter), where he has 10 million followers, his account was restored by Elon Musk.
Adin Ross
American streamer Adin Ross (24 years old) makes videos in which he plays games like Grand Theft Auto, but is known more for his problematic behaviour and guests. During the election campaign, for example, he interviewed Donald Trump and repeatedly gave space to white supremacist Nick Fuentes. In 2023, he was banned for life from Twitch after racist messages appeared on his stream.
After Andrew Tate's arrest in Romania on human trafficking charges, Ross said Tate was "doing God's work before he got arrested for this nonsense."
Myron Gaines
Gaines is the author of Why Women Deserve Less, which has over 1,700 five-star reviews on Amazon. In the book, he writes: "For most of history, relationships between men and women have been purely business. It was prostitution. All men are clients. All women are whores."
Gaines is also co-host of the podcast Fresh & Fit, which promises to turn "losers into alphas." He strongly supports the so-called "red pill" ideology - a reference to the movie The Matrix, which in this context implies that the world is rigged against men and influenced by feminism. Andrew Tate is a frequent guest on the podcast and the hosts openly advocate for him.
Pearl (JustPearlyThings)
Hannah Pearl Davis, known as Pearl or JustPearlyThings, has nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube and acts as a cultural commentator with conservative views. She often attacks feminism in her videos - for example, titles such as "Feminists only want equality when it suits them". She has also shared on Twitter (X) statements like, "Was he really a rapist or did you bring it up?"
She holds strongly traditional values - for example, she argues that divorce should be outlawed. Even though YouTube has demonetized her account (i.e. removed the ability to make money from advertising), her videos continue to garner hundreds of thousands of views.
