In the manosphere, the Hockey Canada trial’s not-guilty verdict is viewed as a vindication

After five former world junior hockey players were found not guilty of sexual assault last month in a highly publicized and controversial trial, the reaction in the fringe spaces of the manosphere was jubilation.

For some factions of the manosphere – the online world of forums, podcasts and social-media accounts with devoted followings of young men – the verdict was an exemplar of what men’s rights influencers and their acolytes claimed were worrying trends proliferating in the aftermath of #MeToo, the movement empowering survivors of sexual harassment and assault to speak out.