Irish study finds that social media algorithms are "rapidly amplifying misogynistic and male supremacist content"

A brand new study from Dublin City University's Anti-Bullying Centre was published today, which shows "how TikTok's and YouTube Shorts' algorithms promote toxic content to boys and young men using the platforms."

The study, carried out by Dr Catherine Baker, Prof Debbie Ging and Dr Maja Brandt Andreasen, involved tracking, recording and coding the content that was recommended to 10 "sockpuppet" accounts on 10 blank smartphones – five of which were on YouTube Shorts, and five which were on TikTok.

According to the report, all of the accounts, "both those which sought out manosphere [alpha male and anti-feminist] content and those which sought out gender-normative (generic) content, were fed toxic content within the first 23 minutes of the experiment, and manosphere content within the first 26 minutes."

"Once an account showed interest by watching manosphere content, the amount rapidly increased," the study's key findings read. "By the last round of the experiment (i.e. after 400 videos or 2-3 hours viewing), the vast majority of the content being recommended to the phones was problematic or toxic... primarily falling into the manosphere (alpha male and antifeminist) category."

As the description of the report on the Anti-Bullying Centre's website reads:

"Much of this content rails against equality and promotes the submission of women. There was also a large amount of content devoted to male motivation, money-making and mental health. This material strategically taps into boys’ financial and emotional insecurities and is particularly dangerous in relation to mental health as it frequently claims that depression is a sign of weakness and that therapy is ineffective."

In addition, the researchers found that "many of the phones" were shown "reactionary right-wing and conspiracy content", much of which "was anti-transgender content."

Andrew Tate is named in the report as a "highly influential ideological" entrepreneur, whose content is closely associated with the manosphere. He is currently awaiting trial in Romania, having been charged with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.

“Our study shows that shutting down influencers’ accounts does not necessarily remove their content," comments DCU's Prof Debbie Ging. "The overwhelming presence of Andrew Tate content in our dataset at a time when he was de-platformed means that social media companies must tackle harmful content in more sophisticated ways.”

“Ultimately, girls and women are the most severely impacted by these beliefs, but they are also damaging to the boys and men who consume them, especially in relation to mental wellbeing," Prof Ging continues. "The social media companies must come under increased pressure from the government to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of young people over profit.”

Read the full report here.

🚨A new study by DCU's ABC reveals that recommender #algorithms on social media platforms are rapidly promoting #misogynistic and male supremacist content. Details about the study and the report here: https://t.co/95U0e9ZFlr pic.twitter.com/1lPyvsJT4v

— Anti Bullying Centre (ABC) (@AntiBullyingCen) April 17, 2024