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The Worm Must Turn: How Misogynist Influencers Make Their Money—And How We Can Cut It Off

  • Writer: Marika
    Marika
  • Jul 22
  • 5 min read

A thought came to me one morning off the back of my recent post about the loneliness epidemic, about how "manosphere" influencers manage to fund their lifestyles and continue spewing out misogynistic rhetoric with no sign of letting up.

Before I continue, let me make one thing clear: I’m not going to name names in this article. The attention economy thrives on clicks, and even criticism can drive traffic, boost algorithms, and fatten wallets. So rather than feed the beast, I’m referring to one particular slick-headed internet troll as the Human Earthworm - a slippery, subterranean figure who wriggles into every corner of the internet where anger, insecurity and misogyny can be monetised.


This particular individual has been banned, “cancelled", investigated and yet somehow, he’s still raking in millions. Why?

Because like a toddler, when you reward undesirable behaviour (as the system is designed to do) you encourage it. As a result the platforms that host him (and those like him) continue to profit.

So this isn’t just a personality problem. It’s a platform problem and it’s time we started treating it that way.



The Business Model of Misogyny


These influencers aren’t really selling knowledge. They’re selling status; confidence; control; brotherhood. Whether or not they deliver on those promises is irrelevant. The illusion is the product.

And the business model? It’s no different to an essential oils MLM...but with more shouting.

You know the type: low buy-in, big promises and a suspicious number of people claiming their lives were transformed despite the vague, unprovable claims and total lack of accountability.


Let’s take a whiff:

  • You buy in to the “university” or course platform (basic starter pack).

  • You’re encouraged to spread the message through viral content (but make it look organic and urgent).

  • You’re rewarded for recruiting others into the program, not for the value of the content itself.

  • And of course, you’re promised that if you just stay committed, you’ll soon escape "the system", own twelve watches and achieve alpha enlightenment.


It’s a spiritual awakening for the chronically online except instead of promising healing through lavender oil, it promises power through misogyny.


And just like oil-slinging schemes, if it doesn’t work for you, then that’s your fault. You didn’t grind hard enough. You didn’t believe. You didn’t repost enough clips of the Human Earthworm flexing next to a rented sports car.

The entire system thrives not on transformation but on selling the fantasy of transformation to the next recruit.


  1. Cartoon of a satirical manosphere influencer parodying Andrew Tate, Sneako, and other toxic content creators in the podcast space.
    The Human Earthworm | Generic Manosphere Influencer

So who on earth is Sponsoring This?


You might assume no brand would touch this kind of content and you’d be half right. Most reputable companies wouldn’t sponsor these figures for the fear of the PR backlash. However, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t indirectly funding them. They know this is a possibility but just feign ignorance - blaming their brands' appearance alongside manosphere content as just "the nature of automated ad placements".

Every time you see an ad before one of these videos, someone gets paid.

Meanwhile, the platforms themselves - whether mainstream or fringe - profit directly from this traffic.

Controversy is currency, and the Human Earthworm is good for business.




So what's the actual problem?


Obviously the Human Earthworm didn’t rise to fame on charisma alone. He was spoon-fed to users by the algorithm.

Social media platforms promote outrage and emotional extremism. They funnel users toward more extreme content and ultimately profit from every click, view and repost regardless of the consequences.


This is not a bug in the system. It's by design. It’s a business model. It's a CHOICE.



But who would fall for this nonsense?


It’s worth noting that while the algorithm eagerly targets young men with underdeveloped prefrontal cortices (the part of the brain responsible for judgment and impulse control, which doesn’t fully mature until around age 25), it’s not just teenagers falling down the wormhole. Plenty of fully grown adults have joined the cult of the Human Earthworm but they can't blame it on having an immature brain.


For them, it’s less biology and more psychology: ego, identity and resentment.

Because admitting you’ve been hood-winked is embarrassing. It’s easier to double down than rethink your worldview, especially when it’s tied to a sense of masculine pride, grievance or belonging.

Some influencers are simply looking for someone to blame for their own short-comings. Others? They don't even believe in what they're promoting - they’re just in it for the clout and commission. Either way, they’re not victims of neural under-development they’re just deeply committed to the cult.



The solution? Just cut off the money supply


If we want to stop these figures from cashing in, we have to go beyond bans and start hitting them where it hurts: their revenue stream. That means cutting off their access to payment processors like Stripe and PayPal. Putting pressure on crypto exchanges to stop enabling anonymous donations.

Advertisers must take responsibility by demanding transparency over where their ads appear and pull out of platforms that profit from hate. The repost-and-recruit affiliate model must be shut down, especially when it’s clearly designed to mimic pyramid schemes. We also need serious regulation so platforms are held accountable for how their algorithms serve radicalising content to vulnerable users. And just as importantly, we must invest in media literacy and better digital education - not to shame followers, but to arm them with the tools to spot manipulation.

Finally, FOLLOW THE MONEY. Investigate the funders, expose the shell companies and make the business of hate so publicly toxic that no one wants to bankroll it.



The bigger picture is much more worrying


This isn’t just about one Earthworm. It’s about a system that makes misogyny marketable and outrage lucrative. These men aren’t anomalies, they’re products of the platform. And every like, share, repost or hate-watch just fuels the fire.

But the consequences reach far beyond just being flooded with annoying content. This kind of digital poison feeds into a vicious societal cycle where disconnection, mistrust and grievance are amplified until they spill over into real-world harm.

We’re watching mental health unravel, particularly among young men, but not exclusively. Constant exposure to ragebait, anti-social values and dehumanising rhetoric erodes empathy; fuels division; normalises cruelty. Over time, this doesn’t just stay online. Instead it shows up in spikes in violent crime, domestic abuse, online harassment and opportunistic theft. All symptoms of a culture fraying at the seams.

When the loudest voices are rewarded for being the most hateful, we all pay the price with our collective wellbeing.


If we want to fix it, we have to:

  • Demand accountability from tech companies

  • Pressure advertisers to stop funding hate

  • Create better, more socially conscious content that doesn’t exploit fear, loneliness or masculinity (and just as crucially, demand that platforms incentivise that content).


Better content DOES exist. It just isn’t rewarded. The algorithm doesn’t care if something is accurate, empowering or socially responsible. It cares if it keeps you watching. Until tech firms change what the algorithm values, we’ll keep playing whack-a-mole with grifters while the good stuff gets buried.

This isn’t a battle of ideas. It’s a battle for visibility.


The Human Earthworm might be the figure head but he’s just a symptom. Like Hydra, if you cut off one head, many grow in its place. The disease is platform greed - an ecosystem that thrives on outrage, division and despair. Until we confront it head-on, we’ll stay trapped in a cycle where hate is profitable and harm is incentivised.

It’s time we treated this for what it really is: a public health crisis with real-world consequences and demanded that the platforms profiting from it either evolve or be held accountable.


Andrew Tate, Tristan Tate, Sneako, Jordan Peterson, Kevin Samuels, Myron Gaines, Walter Weekes, Fresh and Fit Podcast, Elliott Hulse, Rich Cooper, Rollo Tomassi, Paul Elam, Anthony Johnson, 21 Studios, manosphere influencers, toxic masculinity, red pill influencers, alpha male podcasts, digital misogyny, online radicalisation, influencer grift economy, social media hate profiteers




 
 
 

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