Mapping the GerManosphere

The pilot study entitled ‘Mapping the GerManosphere’ is the first study to comprehensively analyse and map the misogynist ‘Mannosphäre’ on the German-speaking internet. The ‘Mannosphäre’, like the international Manosphere is a collective term for movements such as “incels”, “pick-up artists” and “men's rights activists”. These groups propagate misogyny, radically reject gender equality and a liberal-democratic social order. They are united by a belief in natural gender inequality and male supremacy. This ideological background enables the online rooms of the Manosphere to serve as the antechamber of extremist movements. Employing qualitative methods and social network analysis, research for the study ‘Mapping the GerManosphere’ found, which platforms Mannosphäre actors are present on, how their network is structured and which central narratives the different groups are spreading. The study was conducted by the Cluster of Excellence ‘Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)’ at Freie Universität Berlin in collaboration with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) as part of the transdisciplinary research project ‘Misogyny on the Net’.