How my brother went from liberal Hollywood actor to manosphere 'messiah'

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: How my brother went from liberal Hollywood actor to manosphere 'messiah'31 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJacqui Wakefield , Global Disinformation Unit ,Owen PinnellandKaty Ling , EyeYouTubeEl Temach is Latin America's biggest manosphere influencer, with 11 million followersWarning: This story contains offensive languageTen years ago Luis Castilleja was a free-wheeling creative, seeking his fortune as an actor in Hollywood, and enjoying the liberal Los Angeles lifestyle. Now he is better known as El Temach, Latin America's biggest manosphere influencer, whose misogynistic and hyper-masculine content has gained him more than 11 million social media followers. His sister Alex says his transformation is shocking and they no longer speak.

"I don't like saying El Temach because for me he's a completely different person. So I'm sister with the human that he was," she says. Alex, a design engineer from Mexico, says her brother's metamorphosis shows how even the most unlikely people can be tempted into making manosphere content, once they realise the money and fame to be made.

The Details

Alex says she and her brother have not spoken for two years as a result of his viewsThe impact of Western influencers such as Andrew Tate has been well documented. But a World Service investigation has scrutinised the content and followings of 15 other influencers - based in South and East Asia, Latin America and Africa - and found that, on average, their followings have tripled in the past three years. These regions have seen relatively recent gains in gender equality, and experts say this environment is fuelling men's hunger for manosphere content.

As well as El Temach, our investigation also focused on Andrew Kibe - a household name in Kenya who promotes male self-empowerment and misogyny on social media. Both have repeatedly attacked single mothers, and regularly accuse women of being "gold diggers" who manipulate men. Both influencers, we found, are earning large sums of money from their platforms.

El Temach and Kibe both strongly deny their content is misogynistic, with Kibe - in an interview with the - even disputing the existence of the concept. Watch: "Misogyny is not hate of women" - Andrew Kibe disputes the term's definition in interviewWe wanted to see the impact this content has on consumers. Two Gen Z followers - one in Kenya and one in Mexico - gave the uncensored access to several years of their social media activity, allowing us to see thousands of their posts, views, likes, comments and shares.

What Experts Say

The data reveals their personal journeys into the manosphere. Mexican Julián first started using Instagram aged 16, liking and commenting on content about cars, fitness and self-development. His history shows that he first liked a video from El Temach a few months later, after it appeared in his recommended feeds.

Now 19, he has so far liked more than 3,000 videos from dozens of manosphere creators.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.