Red pills: the virtual world that exposes society

The subject has already been in the trending topics from search engines and social networks.

While for some the topic is nothing more than a distant and unimaginable absurdity, for others it reveals a very close, gigantic and frightening reality. However, while many of us remain in disbelief, some men see this grouping as something normal, necessary and encouraged.

We are talking about red pills here.

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Self-proclaimed 'masculinists', red pills operate in digital communities, as an excusable “boys' club”, formed by heterosexual men who question the existence of women in contemporary society and their rightful freedoms.

Mainly opposed to single mothers, also known as “msol”; women over 30, the “balzacs”; feminists; and all women involved in any political activity, the red pills have accumulated more than 4 million followers on their YouTube channels and around 1 billion views.

The fact is that a recent survey (2021 to 2024) commissioned by UOL and carried out by the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), in partnership with the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and support from InternetLab, revealed that misogynistic hate speech has multiplied mainly on Telegram, surpassing by four times the sum of manifestations of racism, xenophobia against northeasterners, ableism and LGBTphobia.

While technology reduces distances, “democratizes” access to information – and this is said with many quotation marks –, reduces geographical barriers, enables speed in previously difficult dialogues and allows us to participate more actively in important social movements, this same technology also allows hate speech to gain followers and strength in digital environments/groups, strengthening – including – the capture of new followers.

We cannot look at technology only through the eyes of benefits; we need to pay attention to the social impacts that expand in the anonymous lines of the Internet and its environments. (PS the web is perhaps the most authentic space for human and contemporary thought).

Understanding the social resistance that exists to diversity (color, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.), beyond social circles and work environments, shows us that there is still much to be done, and that it will not be enough to cover up reality, the web will reveal the size of our problem.