The Mayor of London has issued a stark warning about the growing influence of online “manosphere” content, urging tech firms, regulators and government to take urgent action or risk “a lost generation of young men”.
In a major speech delivered in central London, Sadiq Khan set out a wide-ranging agenda to tackle the spread of online misogyny, including calls for tougher regulation of social media algorithms, stronger enforcement of the Online Safety Act, and a potential ban on under-16s accessing social platforms.
Alongside regulatory demands, the Mayor unveiled a £1 million funding package aimed at supporting boys and young men across the capital, with interventions spanning the home, education system and community settings.
Algorithms under pressure as Mayor accuses platforms of “rewarding” harmful content
Central to the Mayor’s message was a direct challenge to technology companies. Rather than focusing solely on removing individual posts, he argued that the design of algorithms themselves is driving the amplification of harmful content.
Describing manosphere influencers as “snake oil salesmen who take advantage of young men’s ambition to peddle pound shop misogyny,” Khan said platforms are not merely failing to act, but are incentivising engagement with divisive material.
“These manosphere voices aren’t just allowed to pump out poison,” he said. “They’re rewarded for it by a system that’s rigged in their favour.”
He added that, “This kind of content can be catastrophic for the young men who consume it, but its consequences for the women in their lives are terrifying, too.”
The Mayor called on companies to be transparent about how their systems operate, stating: “It’s time for companies to explain how misogyny spreads like wildfire on their platforms – and publicly set out how they’ll adjust their algorithms to stop it. If they refuse to act, then the state must step up.”
Stronger regulation and potential social media ban for under-16s
Khan also pushed for more assertive regulatory oversight, urging Ofcom to make full use of its powers under the Online Safety Act.
“It’s time to show companies that the era of impunity is over. If they cannot protect people on their platforms, they must face the consequences,” he said.
In a more controversial proposal, the Mayor backed calls to restrict under-16s’ access to social media platforms entirely unless companies can demonstrate improved safety standards.
“From food to pharmaceuticals, almost every company has to prove that its products are safe before they’re sold,” he said. “I see no reason why social media firms shouldn’t do the same. Until they can prove that their platforms are safe for kids, a ban is the only way to stem the harms we know are happening right now.”
However, he cautioned that access restrictions alone would not resolve the issue: “The outrage economy is failing all of us – men and boys, women and girls. Rather than just restricting access to social media, we must reimagine it.”
A wider cultural challenge around masculinity
Khan also turned his focus inward, acknowledging that wider societal narratives have contributed to the current environment.
“Toxic masculinity’ is all too real,” he said. “But I worry that, in our embrace of this type of language, we have too often alienated young men rather than engaging them – leaving them looking for validation elsewhere.”
“In our failure to imagine that it could be anything other than toxic, we’ve allowed the conversation around masculinity to become a monopoly market.”
He urged leaders across sectors to re-engage with young men and offer more constructive narratives around identity and masculinity.
£1 million investment in prevention and support
To complement policy measures, the Mayor announced a £1 million package delivered through London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), targeting support for young men in three key environments:
- At home: Training for fathers to counter harmful online narratives and build positive role-modelling
- At school: Targeted sessions in secondary schools and pupil referral units focusing on masculinity, relationships and resilience
- In the community: A new football-based mentoring network developed with London clubs
The programme builds on wider VRU activity, which the Mayor says has contributed to a 50% reduction in hospital admissions of young people due to knife assaults, alongside more recent investment in youth provision across London.
New campaign and practical tools for parents and educators
Alongside funding, Khan launched a new public awareness campaign developed with charity Beyond Equality and creative agency Ogilvy.
Titled “Ignore the noise, trust your own voice”, the initiative engages social media influencers to model positive masculinity, including live-streamed content encouraging young audiences to reflect on identity and behaviour.
Early sessions featuring TikTok personalities have already reached more than 20,000 young men.
At the heart of the campaign is the N.O.I.S.E. framework – a practical tool to help young people critically assess the content they consume:
- N — Is it Negative?
- O — Is it Oppositional?
- I — Does it make you feel Insecure?
- S — Is it Simplistic?
- E — Who is Earning from it?
A complementary guide has also been issued for parents, teachers and trusted adults to support conversations about online influence and behaviour.
Public concern highlighted in new polling
Polling commissioned by the Mayor underscores widespread concern among Londoners:
- 55% believe social media is harmful to under-18s, compared to just 6% who see it as beneficial
- Only 17% think young men have access to sufficient positive role models
- 71% of men aged 18–24 report strong pressure to meet expectations of masculinity
Khan warned that such pressures create fertile ground for harmful online influences.
“We’ve got to start talking”
Closing his speech, the Mayor called for collective responsibility across society:
“The deafening silence of the rest of society has allowed manosphere influencers to dominate the discussion. In the process, masculinity has become a lost language.”
“If we’re going to relearn it, tech companies and the government have got to take the megaphones away from online misogynists. But the rest of us have got to start talking, too. And I’m proud to say that, here in London, we’re leading the way.”
Image credit: iStock
