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. The traditional levers of accountability that keep most creators in check simply don’t apply to the creators of the manosphere. As they cut out the middleman, they are basically free to say whatever they want.

But are they really free to say whatever they want to?

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

Our algorithms cannot distinguish between rage and resonance.

Stories just need to convert into a click. Algorithms are designed to keep people glued to their screens. They reward what spreads, not what is true. If there are no clicks, there is no relevance. And creators need relevance to maintain their position within the ecosystem.

Part of this cycle is that the human psyche is naturally more reactive to rage than resonance. It’s the dopamine loops that come from drama that keep us hooked. The extremer the stories become, the more extreme the creator needs to be to keep the lights on. It’s a treadmill.

As online creators rose to fame, this rise has facilitated a silent coup: the old masters have been dethroned, replaced by a new deity—the algorithm.

Unlike traditional figures who answer to advertisers, these creators are beholden to their most radical subscribers; they cannot afford to challenge their audience’s bias without risking the collapse of their entire business model. Once they decide to nuance, the algorithm might reward them with fewer clicks.

While figures of the manosphere might not need brand deals anymore, they are still dependent on platforms (YouTube, X, Rumble). When a platform decides to shadowban or de-platform someone, access to their audience vanishes instantly.

Also, to maintain their position, the creator needs to keep in mind what the data tells them that works.

The structures that keep the algorithm running are not built for the nuanced middle. Thoughtful journalists and insightful creators who prioritize depth and nuance are effectively snowed under by a machine that rewards intensity over integrity.

In this environment, nuanced opinions do not spread by themselves. The architecture of the internet doesn’t just amplify the extreme; it taxes the moderate until they either disappear or pick a side.

Freedom of speech is the ultimate promise of the creator economy, but it has become a bit of an illusion. Unrestricted access to an audience is now often conflated with relevance, even though the two are fundamentally different.

While the treadmill model remains incredibly profitable, Substack, Patreon, long-form podcasts, and private rooms have seen massive growth.

What type of creator are you?

Thank you for reading! The journal prompt of today:

What ways do you see for thoughtful, meaningful stories to flourish online?

Curious to see more reflections like this? Click through to see the rest of the series on entrepreneurship. I’d love to hear what resonates with you.