Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere

This disturbing debut exposé uncovers the abuse and manipulation beneath the surface of “manosphere” influencer Andrew Tate’s online media empire. Tahsin and Shea, journalists who produced two documentaries on Tate and were among the first to report on his human trafficking operations, structure the narrative as a series of reveals revolving around discoveries they made via leaked Telegram chats, interviews with former members of Tate’s online following—dubbed the “War Room”—and with women working for Tate’s webcam business, and the authors’ own hesitant participation in cheesy tests of their “manhood.” What starts as an amusing and cathartic puncturing of Tate’s wealthy playboy image turns much darker as women come forward with reports of rape and assault. While Tate’s crimes, which led to indictments in Romania, are chilling enough, the authors also show how Tate is instructing other men in how to “weaponize affection” to ensnare women and “put them to work in the sex industry.” The most illuminating insights concern Iggy Semmelweiss, a shadowy figure who has gone by several names and spent time in two cults, whom Tahsin and Shea position as the War Room’s “leader in practice,” with Tate as a mere “figurehead.” Despite some stylistic snags (frequent switches from first to third person confuse more than charm), this dogged investigation presents a foreboding vision of modern masculinity. (Oct.)