Online "rape academy" abetted by broader structures of profit from assault

The Women’s Commission of the American Party of Labor | Apr. 22, 2026–

We are disturbed and disgusted by the recent revelations brought to light in an investigation into a wide-spanning online network of thousands of men from around the world shared videos and tips of how to drug and rape their unconscious partners in a private Telegram channel. We unreservedly condemn the perpetrators of these heinous acts, especially those men in the network who were selling sleep drugs, or photos, videos, and livestreams of themselves committing extreme sexual violence, creating an underground, illicit market where depictions of said assaults were bought and sold as commodities. 

This condemnation, however, does not rest solely on these men. We also wholeheartedly condemn the grotesque, vile people behind “Motherless-dot-com,” a website that describes itself as a “moral-free file host,” who profit from hosting these videos, and provided the platform where members of the aforementioned secretive Telegram channel found each other. These capitalists directly profit from hosting harmful, abusive, criminal material, as their algorithms encourage the creation and propagation of the most extreme content to drive engagement, thus increasing ad revenue — which, in the case of “Motherless,” accounts for 85% of their income.

Accordingly, we equally condemn every other similar platform and those who pay them for advertisement space. For every “rape academy” that is exposed, how many others continue to operate under our noses?

How could we ever expect adequate justice for victims, or prevention of such abominable crimes in the first place, in a society designed by and for the profit motive? Such acts of gender-based violence are encouraged by the bourgeoisie and the capitalist system itself, which sows division among the working class along any axis possible, with gender being no exception. 

The story, horrific in its own right, has unfortunately been frequently misreported and sensationalized by various online news outlets and content creators, many of whom have spread the misconception that a whopping “62 million men” had directly taken part in an online “rape academy.” That number comes from the total number of visits to “Motherless” in February, not the number of men who were members of the Telegram chat uncovered by the investigation, who numbered about a thousand (which, of course, is a thousand too many). This misrepresentation comes, in part, from the online algorithmic ecosystem which favors sensational stories that drive more clicks and engagement, and therefore, increase profits for advertisers, content creators, and the corporate platforms they operate on. The end result of this misinformation is the confirmation of many women’s fears about men, about how the majority of the male population is dangerous, and how the only refuge is women’s separatism. 

Although men do benefit from the elevated status and heightened privilege that patriarchy gives them, gender separatism, as is the case with all forms of identity-based separatism, only serves to create division within the working class, which weakens the movement towards the only proven, viable solution to patriarchal oppression and the gendered violence women face: revolutionary socialism.

Genuine gender equality, and therefore the end of the sexual violence pandemic, can only be achieved by creating a classless society, shifting from the current system to one where human needs, not profit, dictate relationships, and where every person has reliable access to safety and independence.

Therefore, the Women’s Commission of the American Party of Labor calls upon all members of the working class, of all genders, to strengthen their unity, cohesion, and solidarity; to solidify their commitment to equality; and to fight for a better future, a better, more just society, run by and for the working class, free of all divisions, oppression, gender-based discrimination, and a complete end to violent, patriarchal domination and the sexual exploitation of women and vulnerable people everywhere!