Shorouk Express
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Sixty per cent of Gen Zers believe political leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are fuelling misogynistic and divisive language online.
This “toxic ‘bro’ culture” is driving young women away from social media platforms, according to a recent Amnesty International UK poll.
The survey, conducted in February among more than 3,000 UK Gen Z members (aged 16-25), highlighted controversial influencer Andrew Tate as the primary driver of online misogyny, according to half of the male respondents.
Among female respondents, 58 per cent pointed to Trump.
Other high-profile culprits named were tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, and Reform UK MP Nigel Farage.
The survey also revealed the mental health impact of such online content. Over a third (37 per cent) of all respondents reported that encountering misogynistic content affected their mental well-being, with women (44 per cent) significantly more likely to experience this than men (28 per cent).
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A fifth of Gen Z women reported having left or avoided certain platforms after experiencing online misogynistic behaviour – with 40 per cent of those mentioning X (formerly Twitter), 30 per cent TikTok and 30 per cent Instagram.
The findings come in the same week as former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate said “callous, manipulative and toxic influencers” are tricking young men into thinking women are against them.
Delivering the 46th Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the University of London, Sir Gareth warned of young men “withdrawing into the online world, reluctant to talk or express their emotions” as “real-world communities and mentorship declines”.
He said a “void” in their search for direction is often now being filled by some influencers who “willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance”.
The Amnesty polling found young men were less likely than women to think online misogyny reflects real societal attitudes (51 per cent of men compared with 71 per cent of women).
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Chiara Capraro, from Amnesty International UK, said: “This polling paints a deeply troubling picture of the digital world young people are forced to navigate.
“Tech companies continue to prioritise profit over people’s safety and the result is a barrage of misogynistic content which deeply affects young people’s online experience. A toxic ‘bro’ culture is driving many young women away from social media altogether.”
She said tech companies must “step up and take responsibility for the safety of their users”, arguing that “online misogyny does real world harm”.
Meanwhile, the founding president of a US think tank focused on male wellbeing has said he is working towards setting up a similar organisation in the UK.
Richard Reeves, from the American Institute for Boys and Men, is an ex-director of strategy to former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.
Mr Reeves told the Today podcast he is “working towards a similar institution in the UK”.
The organisation “conducts non-partisan research on issues that affect the wellbeing of boys and men” in the US “and designs programmes and policies to help them thrive”, according to its website.
A total of 3,024 UK respondents aged 16 to 25 were surveyed by Savanta on behalf of Amnesty International between February 13-19, 2025.
