Misogyny on YouTube: 90% of the channels identified in 2024 are still available on the platform

An update to the NetLab UFRJ survey on misogyny on YouTube found that channels identified by the lab in April 2024 continue to publish content and gain new followers, two years after the survey was conducted.

Rio de Janeiro, March 9, 2026

In 2024, NetLab UFRJ identified 137 YouTube channels that disseminated content containing hate speech, contempt, aversion, or control over women. These data were published in the report “Learn to Avoid ‘This Type’ of Woman”: Discursive Strategies and the Monetization of Misogyny on YouTube. As of 2026, 123 of these channels remain active on the platform.

In 2024, these 123 channels had a combined total of 19,505,210 subscribers. Today, they have accumulated over 23 million subscribers. In other words, there has been an increase of approximately 18.55%, with 3,618,086 new subscribers.

Currently, the channels have published a total of 130,000 videos—25,000 more than in 2024, when they had published 105,000 videos. Twenty of these channels have changed their names since then, and some have removed references to the “machosphere” from their titles.

At the time of the initial survey in 2024, the 14 removed channels had a combined total of 1.37 million subscribers.

About the methodology

The data update was performed automatically, focusing exclusively on the 137 channels previously analyzed in 2024. The research was conducted by combining computational analysis techniques with qualitative analysis, using a research protocol developed in accordance with international conventions and the specialized literature on misogyny and gender-based violence in the digital environment.

To ensure the safety of the researchers and avoid undue amplification or exposure of the content creators analyzed, the laboratory does not disclose or publicly make available the list of channels mapped in the study. The methodological protocol adopted is detailed in the report published on the NetLab UFRJ website, where it can be consulted and replicated by other researchers.

About the report

The research report“Learn to Avoid ‘This Type’ of Woman”: Discursive Strategies and the Monetization of Misogyny on YouTube produced in partnership between NetLab UFRJ and the Ministry of Women, investigated the presence of misogynistic discourse on YouTube. The study mapped strategies for monetizing this content, analyzing how misogynistic channels generate profit through ads, channel memberships, and other resources.

The research utilized advanced artificial intelligence tools to analyze 76,289 videos and identify the communities and patterns of the Brazilian “macho sphere.” It also examined forms of monetization and their relationship to misogynistic content.