Louis Theroux does a good job of exposing the false prophets of the manosphere, says Toby in his latest Spectator column. But after decades of feminist demonisation that drives men towards influencers like these, where is Louis’s positive case for masculinity? Here’s an excerpt.

His latest documentary, Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, is an entertaining and at times disturbing watch. His diffident approach to drawing out these male social-media stars seems to throw them off balance. They sense he’s out to ‘rip’ them, not least because his reputation precedes him, but can’t work out how. They’re used to direct confrontation, expecting him to ‘come at them’, rather than to ask apparently innocent questions about their relationship with their mothers. They don’t realise he’s giving them an opportunity to condemn themselves out of their own mouths – so of course they happily oblige. …

As Louis probes his subjects about their worldview, they also turn out to be raging antisemites. One tells him the world is run by a cabal of Satanists with the Rothschilds at its heart. Louis got into trouble recently for a podcast in which he failed to criticise Bob Vylan about his “Death to the IDF” chant. But here he drops his guileless façade and tells these basement-dwellers they’re talking bollocks.

Inside the Manosphere isn’t without its faults. Louis shows selfies these braggarts have taken with Donald Trump and laps up their stories of how close they are to the US President’s inner sanctum. For once, the credulousness isn’t an act. He wants to believe it – wants to depict Trump as a product of this toxic universe – so his critical faculties desert him. Louis can be un-believably stupid about politics too.

The film would also have benefited from a bit more self-reflection. Yes, these ‘influencers’ are exhibit A in the case for banning under-16s from social media. But they’re filling a vacuum created by the unwillingness of grown-up, well-adjusted men with big media platforms – men like Louis – to make a positive case for masculinity. Successive generations of influential men have allowed the feminist demonisation of half the human race to go unchallenged, so is it any wonder aggrieved adolescent boys are turning to the manosphere? If you want them to reject these false prophets, it’s not enough to expose them – and Louis does a superb job of that. You have to offer something better.

Read More: Louis Theroux Needs to Make a Positive Case for Masculinity