(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Department of Homeland Security has funded a study that links popular social media personalities Andrew Tate, Pearl Davis and other “Manosphere” influencers to domestic terrorism, Headline USA has learned.
The study stems from the Targeted Violence & Terrorism Prevention Grant Program, or TVTP—an initiative where the DHS disperses millions of dollars in grants to think tanks and academic groups, which then attempt to identify potential terrorists based on behavioral indicators. TVTP has been aptly described by some researchers as a “pre-crime” program.
As part of TVTP, in 2022 the DHS gave $659,327 to fund Diverting Hate, a group of students and academics who were studying “incels,” or “involuntary celibates”—a term used to describe young men who can’t attract romantic partners. With terror attacks such as the 2014 Isla Vista killings coming from self-described incels, some researchers have viewed the incel movement as a growing national security threat in recent years.
Apparently, Diverting Hate thinks that the social media “Manosphere”—a network of online influencers who promote masculinity and criticize feminism—is contributing to the incel terrorism threat.
In a report published in September and recently discovered by online researcher BX, Diverting Hate made the case that Manosphere influencers Tate, Davis and others are promoting views that lead to terrorism. Tate is the controversial online personality who promotes a course called “Hustlers University” to young men, while Davis is a woman in her mid-20s who recently took Twitter by storm with her anti-feminist views.
It’s not clear whether Diverting Hate’s report influenced policy at DHS, but it does provide insight into the group’s activities.
For instance, the report included a graphic pointing an arrow from Tate and other manosphere influencers towards “positive male influences.”
Given that Diverting Hate has boasted about using targeted advertisements to steer Twitter users away from “dangerous” content, the report raises the question about whether the group is using taxpayer money to divert internet traffic from “Manosphere” personalities towards DHS-approved influencers.
However, Diverting Hate didn’t respond to an email about the matter. In fact, after Headline USA emailed Diverting Hate, the group blocked public access to its report, which can still be found here.
From Tate to Terrorism?
Diverting Hate’s September report didn’t argue that incels will be directly radicalized to terrorism by the likes of Tate and Davis. However, the group argued that the “toxic” views promoted by Tate, Davis and the manosphere may lead to incel terrorism.
“Documented instances of violence committed by incels serve as inspiration for future events. These acts of violence are often fueled by violent fantasies, perceived challenges to one’s masculinity, and the manosphere’s attitude towards feminism,” the report said.
For Davis in particular, the report argued that her platform is a gateway to more violent ideologies.
“Her language, while not necessarily violent, is intentionally mainstream to reach a vast audience; however, her content’s misogynistic underpinnings have the propensity to appeal to communities purporting more aggressive anti-female narratives,” the report said of Davis.
The report further suggested that “pick-up artists” in the Manosphere pose a terrorism risk. That’s because when the strategies for picking up women don’t work for incels, they then become radicalized and turn to violence, according to the report.
“The incel movement grew directly out of the [pickup artist] fad, a storm cloud of disillusioned students who were ready to try more violent means of accessing female bodies,” the report said, quoting feminist author Jude Doyle.
The report concluded by lamenting that Tate and other manosphere influencers are allowed to operate on social media.
“It’s clear that these videos promote misguided perspectives vis-à-vis women, yet unless an explicit threat is detected, it is likely that YouTube will continue allowing such videos to be dispersed on their platform,” the report said.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
