Is it any wonder young people feel let down by the justice system? Rape culture is endemic. Ray Epstein and Shannon Porter, founder of Student Activists Against Sexual Assault and CEO of What They Don’t Say, a survivor-led media platform, respectively, wrote this week about another set of high-profile sexual assault allegations—this time involving the popular streamer and “looksmaxxer” known as Clavicular. A mainstay of the manosphere, Clavicular “offers men struggling for connection an answer in physical perfection, increasing sexual market value, and the seemingly effortless sexual conquest of women,” Epstein and Porter write. Clavicular and other manosphere influencers have gained a mass online following, radicalizing young men by convincing them that their dissatisfaction with their lives is the fault of women.

This isn’t just an American phenomenon. In Japan, Sena Chang reports, the far-right nationalist party Sanseitō has been making inroads with young people, using social media to radicalize disaffected voters. Still, there is hope. Marshall Ganz writes about how Zohran Mamdani’s historic campaign made young voters feel seen, giving them an opportunity to exercise political agency and organize their communities. While the far right may find success online, Mamdani’s campaign shows that the left still has much to gain on the ground.

-Tisya Mavuram

Engagement Editor, The Nation