Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

Social networks struggle to crack down on ‘incel’ movement

Social networks struggle to crack down on ‘incel’ movement

Analysis: despite action from large platforms and volunteer moderators, communities remain influential online
Despite years of strict moderation from the main social networks, the “incel” community remains as influential as it was in 2014, when an English 22-year-old killed seven people on the streets of Isla Vista, California, motivated by his hatred of women.

The murders were an eerie parallel of the shootings in Plymouth last week. Both killers were radicalised on social media, where they posted extensively about their hatred of women and their feelings of despair over their lack of sexual activity.

But in the years since 2014, all the main social networks have acted against the movement. Reddit, which was once home to some of the largest incel communities on the internet, has spent much of the past two years enforcing policies that had previously been only loosely applied.

Subreddits such as r/incels and r/theblackpill have been banned for violating “sitewide rules regarding violent content”. The latter was a gathering point for individuals who described themselves as having been “blackpilled”, a philosophy loosely linked to the incel community where members describe themselves as having been awakened to the true miseries of modern life.

In other communities that could easily cross the line into violent extremism, volunteer moderators work hard to keep the conversation from veering into dark places. The Forever Alone subreddit, for instance, is “a place where people who have been alone most of their lives could come and talk about their issues”. Its 10 volunteer moderators do not work for Reddit, but enforce a set of rules, which include “be polite, friendly and welcoming”, and a strict ban on “any incel references, slang or inference”.

The Reddit account of the Plymouth shooter was suspended on Wednesday, just hours before the attack, again for breaking the site’s content policy. A Reddit spokesperson said: “We take these matters very seriously. Our investigation is ongoing.”

Other platforms were slower to act. YouTube, where the shooter had an account and regularly posted vlog-style videos, also took down his account – on Saturday, citing the platform’s “offline behaviour” policy. That policy is also relatively new: as recently as 2019, YouTube was criticised for not taking down content from users such as Tommy Robinson, who were careful to only post videos that were within the rules of the platform, even as they more broadly engaged in behaviour that went far beyond what the service would allow.

“Our hearts go out to those affected by this terrible incident,” a YouTube spokesperson said. “We have strict policies to ensure our platform is not used to incite violence. In addition, we also have longstanding policies that prohibit those responsible for attacks like these from having a YouTube channel and have since terminated their channel from our platform.”

On Facebook, the incel movement isn’t banned outright. Only a small handful of designated “hateful ideologies” are so limited, including white supremacy and nazism. Many more movements are banned as designated “hateful organisations”, but such a restriction does not apply to the leaderless incel movement. Instead, however, the site’s limitations on hate speech largely apply: content promoting hate on the basis of someone’s sex or gender is banned, as is any content promoting violence.

Despite action from large social networks, the incel community remains influential online. Sites with loose or nonexistent moderation policies, such as 4chan and 8kun, have sizeable cohorts, and smaller, dedicated forums are able to set their own moderation policies.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×