Following the route from ordinary videos into the manosphere
The State of Man begins with a personal alarm for journalist Marc Fennell: online recommendations led his children from Pokémon videos towards manosphere content. His three-part investigation follows the kinds of algorithmic paths young viewers can encounter, asking how ideas about masculinity circulate and who profits from them.
Fennell follows material about fitness, money and self-improvement as it connects with increasingly divisive messages. The series examines influencers alongside the platforms and industries that help those messages travel. Its subject is therefore a system of recommendations and commercial incentives, as well as the personalities appearing on screen.
