The spread of manosphere ideology to a Norwegian audience through ironic spectatorship: A qualitative analysis of influencer engagement with Andrew Tate

In this article, I analyse the processes through which extremist discourses are mainstreamed via social media influencers, with a particular focus on the Norwegian context. Drawing on insights from feminist scholarship, extremism research, and media and communications theory, I investigate how young male influencers reproduce, adapt, and negotiate ideas and symbols associated with Andrew Tate and the manosphere. The study concentrates on–2023, when Tate’s visibility surged internationally and became a prominent topic in Norwegian mainstream media. Through qualitative analysis of ten YouTube and Instagram posts produced by Oscar Westerlin, Norway’s most prominent male influencer, both explicit references and more subtle incorporations of manosphere-related ideas are identified. A key argument in the article is that Westerlin acts as an “ironic spectator”, a figure who strategically brings extremist content into the mainstream to attract attention in today’s digital media landscape. Situated within the Norwegian society where gender equality is highly valued, the article contributes to an understanding of how influencer culture can facilitate the normalisation of extremist ideologies in a specific context.