Fears for boys aged 12 lured into a toxic manosphere of hate, lies and misogyny

Algorithms pushing children towards hateful content

- DAN VEVERS

SOCIAL media algorithms are pushing boys as young as 12 towards misogynistic content in the "manosphere", fuelling violence against women and girls, a leading Scottish expert has warned.

Dr David Smith, social psychology expert at Robert Gordon University, said internet searches as innocuous as looking for dating advice or gym routines were leading Scots down dark rabbit holes.

The Aberdeen-based academic, who has penned research on incel culture, also warned political hopelessness among young men was creating the conditions to radicalise them into extreme women-hating beliefs.

He told the Sunday Mail: "The algorithm point is really important. I remember one of the participants I spoke with joined inceldom when he was 12, which is a bit like the show Adolescence.