Andrew Tate’s abusive and misogynistic comments made him infamous on Instagram, where he had more than 14 million followers until his account was suspended.
Teachers have been told to be on the lookout for students discussing a “dangerous” and controversial influencer when school resumes after the summer break.
Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer and multimillionaire, had his Instagram and Facebook accounts deleted after posting misogynistic and insulting content online and for operating Hustlers University, a pyramid business claiming to educate people on how to become wealthy.
Before his Instagram account was deleted, he had more than four million followers. Although he has been barred from ever having an official account on TikTok, content shared under the hashtag Andrew Tate has been seen more than 13 billion times.
A charity told that the stuff that causes them the most concern is still accessible online.
He originally gained prominence in 2016 when he was booted from the reality television program Big Brother when a video appeared to show him beating a woman with a belt – a film he alleges was manipulated.
Since then, he has earned additional prominence on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for his nasty comments, including those suggesting rape victims “have some responsibility” for being assaulted and others in which he refers to women as “property” belonging to men.
He has also described how he would assault a lady who accused him of infidelity, stating that he would “knock out the machete, boom in her face, and grab her by the neck.”
As a result, concerns have been expressed over his influence on young people, especially young men.
Kirsty Pole, an English teacher, became viral on Twitter after alerting colleagues to be wary of Tate and the “dangerous, misogynistic, and homophobic harassment.”
Mrs. Pole told that some answers to her tweet were “very frightening” and that she has heard from primary school teachers who had already discussed Tate’s damaging ideas with students as young as 10 years old.
Certainly, teachers are becoming more familiar with his name, said the 34-year-old.
“Modern schools tend to be very inviting, quite inclusive, and very nurturing places… I believe people like him want to return us to the 1950s or 1960s.”
She said that young boys are especially susceptible to Tate’s radical beliefs, stating, “They already don’t know who they should be if they’re allowed to have feelings, if they’re allowed to weep, or if they need to man up’.”
What should you keep an eye out for?
In light of her warning about Tate, the teacher from Leicestershire has asked parents and teachers to pay close attention to what their children discuss with their friends.
“Listen to what they are saying because you will learn more from listening to them than from conducting your study on every sexist on the internet,” she said.
She noted that the usage of misogynistic language by children is “the clearest indication” that they are under the influence of Tate.
“There is a great deal of jargon in the so-called manosphere. There is a lot of terminology surrounding phrases like “she’s whipped” or “he’s soaked.” “She stated,
The primary indicator is the language that young people use among themselves.
In recent years, instructors have received more training about student safety and radicalization, but Mrs. Pole believes misogynistic training should be offered.
“There is insufficient information about misogyny. There must be more available. Undeniably, we still have work to do on that front “She stated,
A government spokesperson said: “We have made Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE) a required component of the school curriculum and provided schools with guidance on how to be aware of issues like misogyny and gender stereotypes.
“We have also provided teachers with the resources they need to confidently implement this curriculum, and we work collaboratively with schools, councils, and other experts to comprehend and confront the effects of harmful social media trends.”
What has Andrew Tate stated regarding his opinions?
In a live event with Twitch streamer Adin Ross on Friday, Tate was asked about teachers’ claims on Reddit that he influences their kids to make misogynistic comments.
He responded: “I am aware that this is not the case; many of the items that have been taken, hacked up, and posted online are from a very long time ago when my impact was a little fraction of what it is now. I am not apologizing for them, nor am I claiming they are inherently bad.”
He stated that he had “started a campaign to give money to an organization dedicated to defending women from domestic violence.”
He also released a statement in which he denied holding misogynistic attitudes and accused his detractors of “twisting the truth.”
“It is quite terrible that old recordings of me playing a humorous role have been taken out of context and magnified to the point where people believe completely incorrect narratives about me,” the statement read.
“Internet sensationalism has propagated the false notion that I am anti-women, but this is not the case. This is nothing but hate mobs with no interest in the facts attempting to attack me personally.
“Repeatedly, the media propagates a false image of me, and Instagram’s capitulation to pressure is an enormous disgrace.
This is apparent in all of my recent messages and social media posts.
‘Most harm’ is occurring on TikTok – despite being banned
Tuesday, YouTube became the latest platform to delete his profile for violating its hate speech policies.
A YouTube representative informed Bloomberg that Tate-affiliated channels were banned due to “many violations” of YouTube’s community guidelines and terms of service, including its hate speech policy.
“If a channel is terminated, the uploader cannot use, own, or create any other YouTube channels,” according to the statement.
Hope Not to Hate had been advocating for the bans, but has also focused on videos of him posted by other TikTok and YouTube users.
However, the organization’s director of research told that the information they are “most concerned about” is still online and that TikTok is where the “most harm” is occurring.
“TikTok has stated that it is eliminating anything that violates its rules of service, therefore explicit sexist content has been removed… However, the issue for us is that not all of his information meets the criteria for censorship “Dr. Joe Mulhall clarified
A TikTok spokeswoman said: “The ugly ideology of misogyny is not permitted on TikTok. We’ve been eliminating infringing videos and accounts for weeks, so we’re pleased to hear that other sites are also taking action against this user.”
Tate also frequently appears in clips talking about money, cars, cigars, and other such themes.
Dr. Mulhall cautioned, however, that as a result, individuals get “sucked” into the ideal lifestyle he portrays and then consumes wider content about him, which includes “misogyny, homophobia, and anti-multiculturalism.”
“I’ve never seen such a nasty and extreme social media celebrity become so popular,” he remarked.
“I believe it will take years to undo the damage caused by Andrew Tate online during the past six months.”
Extreme right
Tate has also defended the far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, who appeared in a podcast with American far-right influencer Mike Cernovich and appeared on InfoWars, a podcast by Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist who recently lost a court case regarding the Sandy Hook school shooting.
Hope Not to Hate research identifies him as a “close acquaintance of the far-right extremist” Tommy Robinson and asserts that he has a “long history of close contact with various far-right figures in the UK and the United States.”
“Tommy Robinson performed a Livestream yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, and on it, there were comments stating ‘I’m here because of Tate,’ so we’re even finding concrete cases of Andrew Tate fans appearing on his live streams, which is quite frightening,” Dr. Mulhall added.
“We’re discussing violent misogyny because it’s extremely harmful, but he’s also connected to these networks that young people may eventually join.
“You are suddenly exposing an entirely new audience to these far-right radicals.”
Tate praises Tommy Robinson as a “decent person” in one clip and claims to have “hung out” with him “countless times.”
“Without delving too deeply into the politics of it, because, you know, I’m not saying I agree or disagree with him, I’ll tell you this: he’s a solid guy, he means what he says, he’s got a good heart, he’s honest, and I believe what the establishment is attempting to do to him is unfair.”
Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, found that utilizing video-sharing platforms (VSPs) such as YouTube or TikTok was the most popular online activity among children aged 3 to 17 (95%); while the majority chose to view content on VSPs and 31% submitted their content.
YouTube was the most popular online platform among children, with 89% using it, compared to 50% using TikTok, but TikTok was more popular for posting material, according to the study.
