It’s impossible to say how long we’ll have to wait for some form of meaningful regulation on the internet, or against “free speech” as some others say. Does the answer, perhaps, lie in the algorithms used? We all see how clicking on a video of the antics of a zany dog leads to one’s feed filling up with more and more videos of essentially the same thing. All well and good, until some young man clicks on an Andrew Tate video. What follows is a torrent of horrific monologues from people who appear successful, and appeal to today’s disillusioned population of young men. Suddenly the hate that the likes of Andrew Tate preach becomes gospel.
My son, having recently split from his girlfriend, has now suddenly started to sound distinctly anti-women. I presumed it was a phase in light of his personal life, but what’s new is the language he is using. It is the same rhetoric repeated time and time again by Tate. And this has all come about because of algorithms. The internet decides what content to watch for you, leading you down a rabbit hole without realising it. And that has to be changed.
We’ve been here before. Something has to give. And at the moment, the likes of Andrew Tate have such a pull for young men that an atmosphere of fear is already starting to grip young women. For me, all I can do is try to talk my son around, pointing him to factual information to show that statements made by Mr Tate are simply not true. But I don’t drive several Bugattis or have millions in the bank and, apparently, that is what makes you a world authority on just about every subject.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies