section_path: Reception/Political impact
section_name: Political impact
paragraph_text: Political impact
  
  According to The Guardian, the show highlights the ways in which the manosphere has affected adolescent boys, with characters directly naming Andrew Tate and the " red pill " community as key influences on Jamie and other boys his age. Anneliese Midgley, a Member of Parliament, called for the series to be screened to Parliament and in schools, claiming it could help counter misogyny and violence against women and girls. Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the call, writing on Twitter, "As a father, watching Adolescence with my teenage son and daughter hit home hard." The show was made free for viewing in UK secondary schools after Starmer's backing.
  
  In March 2025, businessman and Trump administration advisor Elon Musk promoted a conspiracy theory on Twitter that the show was " anti-white propaganda" owing to the casting of a white actor to portray Jamie. The theory alleged that the show was based on the 2024 Southport stabbings, and that depicting the perpetrator as white was an intentional choice to demonise white people. Co-writer Jack Thorne called the claim "ridiculous" and stated that the television series was not based on any real-life events.
  
  According to The Guardian, the show highlights the ways in which the manosphere has affected adolescent boys, with characters directly naming Andrew Tate and the " red pill " community as key influences on Jamie and other boys his age. Anneliese Midgley, a Member of Parliament, called for the series to be screened to Parliament and in schools, claiming it could help counter misogyny and violence against women and girls. Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the call, writing on Twitter, "As a father, watching Adolescence with my teenage son and daughter hit home hard." The show was made free for viewing in UK secondary schools after Starmer's backing.
  
  In March 2025, businessman and Trump administration advisor Elon Musk promoted a conspiracy theory on Twitter that the show was " anti-white propaganda" owing to the casting of a white actor to portray Jamie. The theory alleged that the show was based on the 2024 Southport stabbings, and that depicting the perpetrator as white was an intentional choice to demonise white people. Co-writer Jack Thorne called the claim "ridiculous" and stated that the television series was not based on any real-life events.