Over the past week, a lot of people have been watching Louis Theroux’s exposé of the online manosphere, where manfluencers peddle misogyny, racism, homophobia and transphobia, which is then force-fed to young men via toxic social media algorithms. Like the big tech companies and the depraved billionaires who profit from these toxic algorithms, the only value system the manfluencers have is money, maximising engagement and clicks by making the most extreme content they can think of and then monetising the attention of young men and boys by flogging them club memberships, cryptocurrency and other sorts of snake oil. Young men and boys who buy what big tech and the manosphere are selling pay the price financially and emotionally. Anyone who takes Andrew Tate’s advice on relationships is likely to end up as an incel or an abuser. The highest price, of course, is paid by women and girls – not just those unfortunate enough to end up in a relationship with these damaged men or to be assaulted by them but every woman and girl who is now living in a climate of misogyny that is getting worse by the day. Research by Women’s Aid has found that two thirds of young men hold or do not disagree with traditionalist, sexist beliefs like “a man’s worth is measured by power and control over others”, and that “real men should not have to care about women’s opinions or feelings”. I am sure Donald Trump and Elon Musk would agree. Does the Government agree? I presume it would say “No” but it acts as if it does because it has refused to turn off the toxic social media algorithms that are normalising misogyny and hate. It did not listen to the experts or to the artificial intelligence, AI, committee when it voted down our Bill to do precisely that. I also call on the Minister to show some respect for women and girls by supporting the call of survivors of mother and baby homes not to build over a mass grave at Bessborough. They will be outside the Dáil protesting very shortly.

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