Cracking the Code

The Hotpot | March 2026 | By Lisanne

29.3

The manosphere figures who are dominating the internet right now have essentially cracked a code.

They’ve built businesses that don’t rely on brand deals at all. These creators make their money directly from their audience through everything from subscriptions to merch. This means these types of creators have no brand partnerships to lose. They have no advertiser to offend. As they cut out the middleman, they are free to say whatever they want as long as it converts into a click.

When Pierce Morgan made an offensive comment in 2021 about Meghan Markle in Good Morning Britain, he had to apologise to the audience and advertisers of the television program, before he could take on his job again. The traditional levers of accountability that keep most creators in check simply don’t apply to the creators of the manosphere.

Whether you support or condemn the most provocative figures online, their success exposes the systemic issue of the creator economy.

Our algorithms don’t reward truth or nuance — they reward what spreads. They are designed to track peoples attention to optimize for retention: to basically keep people glued at their screens.

Because the architecture of the internet is optimized for engagement rather than accuracy, it naturally amplifies extreme, polarized opinions while de-funding the nuanced middle.

The human psyche is naturally more reactive to rage than resonance. Since a machine cannot distinguish between truth, lies, rage, or resonance, it treats both as high-value currency. To an algorithm, a click is just a pulse, and a “hate-watch” is just as valuable as an act of love.

It’s the dopamine loops that keep us hooked. 

In this environment, the “neutral center”—thoughtful journalists and insightful creators who prioritize depth over drama—is effectively snowed under by a machine that rewards intensity over integrity.

The architecture of the internet doesn’t just amplify the extreme; it taxes the moderate until they either disappear or pick a side.

The thoughtful, insightful and nuanced creators like journalists are basically snowed under.

Freedom of speech is the ultimate promise of the creator economy, yet it has exposed a fundamental flaw in how we distribute information. Whether you support or condemn the most provocative figures online, their success highlights a systemic issue: our algorithms cannot distinguish between rage and resonance.

The digital space is designed for retention. To keep people glued at their screens. The structures that keep the algorithm running are not built for the nuanced middle. The thoughtful, insightful and nuanced creators like journalists are basically snowed under.

Because the architecture of the internet is optimized for engagement rather than accuracy, it naturally amplifies extreme, polarized opinions while burying the nuanced middle. In this environment, the “neutral center”—thoughtful journalists and insightful creators who prioritize depth over drama—is effectively snowed under by a machine that rewards intensity over integrity.

you are obligated to be more extreme than you were yesterday just to keep the lights on.