The manosphere has frequently featured in news headlines this year. Some of these have focused on how the movement looks on YouTube – a platform that research suggests uses recommender algorithms to boost extreme content.
The manosphere is one of multiple far-right communities on the video platform. It’s known for promoting highly conservative views about gender roles for both women and men, epitomised by figures such as Andrew Tate. Research shows manosphere content is doing real-world harm, particularly in schools.
But there’s another movement attempting to counter the influence of the alt-right online. It’s called BreadTube.
What is BreadTube?
BreadTube is a community of video essayists. Centre-left leaning in their politics, these YouTubers have emerged as a response to alt-right influencers online, aiming to bring a more critical lens to social issues. The “bread” in the name reportedly comes from a 19th century book criticising feudalism and capitalism, called The Conquest of Bread, by Peter Kropotkin.
The most notable channels, such as Contrapoints, Hbomberguy, and PhilosophyTube, all boast channels with nearly two million subscribers. Individual videos have viewership ranging from one million to more than seven million views each.
Some express the explicit desire for their videos to help deradicalise the young men who have been pulled into extreme communities online.
They claim their video style and strategic use of political keywords are intended to exploit the YouTube algorithm, ensuring their videos are shown to people who normally view alt-right content.
We wanted to test that claim: could YouTube users in the manosphere encounter BreadTube content instead, and if so, could that potentially help deradicalise them?
Read more:
Meet BreadTube, the YouTube activists trying to beat the far-right at their own game
Our research
In our recently published research, we compared the topics and communication styles of BreadTubers with the manosphere.
First, we analysed 42 transcripts: 12 from BreadTube producers, 12 from manosphere producers and a further 12 from normal, non-politically-oriented YouTubers as a control group.
We found manosphere producers had a narrow focus on women, lifestyle advice, and money, and used a casual, older-brother-like tone to address their audience as a mentor.
By contrast, we found BreadTubers had a more formal tone, discussing a range of social issues, such as inequality and discrimination, as well as health topics, and often cited academic articles to back up their claims.
Unsurprisingly, the groups were therefore very different in their communication style and topics.
Second, we used computational analysis to compare the groups with a dataset of 533 transcripts. This analysis suggested the BreadTube creators tend to produce videos that are complex, but less positive in the emotions they express. This makes sense, as they often analyse social problems.
In contrast, the manosphere analysis revealed less complex videos with more casual language, with the presenters readily expressing positive emotions. Notably, in the analysis of gendered language, only the manosphere was found to discuss women.
These findings supported our qualitative analysis on a much larger scale.
What does this mean?
We found that despite claims BreadTubers tailor their content to reach alt-right communities, their videos remain linguistically very different from those in the manosphere. This means there’s unlikely to be much overlap in audiences across these videos. BreadTube therefore isn’t a magic bullet against radicalisation.
That said, BreadTube creators are still valuable, as they offer a vital, organic alternative to the extremist influencers on YouTube.
BreadTube might differ from manosphere content in notable ways, but it’s the differences that make them worth watching, especially for people who have fallen into niche communities. By providing diverse role models and intellectually engaging content, these channels may act as a preventative circuit breaker for young people before they fall down extremist rabbit holes.
If you’re interested in watching some of these video essays yourself or want to diversify the viewing habits of someone you know, here are five channels we recommend.
1. Contrapoints
Contrapoints produces lavish productions covering everything from philosophy to debates around JK Rowling. Start with her funny and insightful video on social media and envy.
2. Shaun
Shaun produces videos on politics, including case studies on particular events or movements. Start with his critique of the manosphere.
3. Gremlita
Gremlita covers social media, trends, popular culture, and fashion history. Her video on social media advertising and influencer sponsorships is a great starting point.
4. Hbomberguy
Hbomberguy busts myths, such as climate denialism, or misinformation about vaccines. Start with his detailed study of social media and influencer plagiarism.
5. PhilosophyTube
PhilosophyTube makes videos discussing philosophy, such as the work of Nietzsche, Stoicism, and how it relates to modern society. It’s hard to go past her provocatively-titled duo, “Was Nietzsche Woke?” and “Was Nietzsche MAGA?”
