Is Andrew Tate Being Persecuted? Behind the Bans of the Internet’s Most Controversial Figure
DailyBeast this week called Andrew Tate "the internet's biggest a-hole." Other spaces have called him misogynistic, dangerous, violent and hateful.
Tristan Green
DailyBeast this week called Andrew Tate "the internet's biggest a-hole." Other spaces have called him misogynistic, dangerous, violent and hateful.
But does Tate deserve all of the hate, or is he being unfairly persecuted by a Big Tech witch hunt gone wild? After Tate was banned from yet another social media platform Monday, fans began decrying what they feel is unfair treatment of their favorite internet shock jock.
See: Full Send Podcast Hosts The Very Viral And Very Prideful Face of the Internet Andrew Tate
YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook Ban Andrew Tate – is it Fair?
For introductions if you're not familiar with Andrew Tate, he's a 35-year-old American-British former kickboxer who now spends his time horrifying people on the internet. He first came to the public's consciousness on Big Brother in 2016 but was demoted from the show when video surfaced of him attacking a woman with a belt.
Despite that charming quality, Tate quickly grew a following online by sharing his thoughts on American society, and more importantly – women, Black women in particular. Tate's stream of horrible hits include saying that victims of assault bear some responsibility for the crimes committed against them, and blaming most of the world's woes on women and their inability to toe the traditional line.
BBC reports, "Andrew Tate's videos – promoting misogyny and targeting women – have come to prominence this summer, with many teens commenting on just how much he's appearing on their social media feeds.
His content has raised concerns about the real-world effect it could have, especially on the younger users exposed to it during their school holidays when they have time on their hands."
Tate's content has now been removed from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok – and it's all an attempt to combat what many say is making the internet and unsafe place for women and a place of radicalization for young men.
Tate's online content is described as hate-mongering and inspiring violence against women. DailyBeast explains, "TikTok removed Tate’s account for breaching its policies regarding 'content that attacks, threatens, incites violence against, or otherwise dehumanizes an individual or a group' based on attributes including sex, a spokesperson told The Washington Post in a statement. The self-promoting 'success coach' was also kicked off Facebook and Instagram for violating rules around dangerous organizations and individuals, a Meta spokesperson told NBC Friday.
Tate’s bans come after campaign groups have called for his deplatforming over his content. In a petition calling for Tate to be banned from social platforms, British advocacy group Hope Not Hate slammed Tate’s 'violently misogynist, racist, and homophobic content,' which it said 'poses a genuine threat to young people.' The group arrived at its conclusion about Tate based on his monumental online popularity coupled with his troubling views and past comments. In one video on how he would deal with a woman who accused him of cheating, Tate said: 'It’s bang out the machete, boom in her face, and grip her by the neck. Shut up, b—h.'"
It's a bad week for Tate, whose self-help "Hustler University" also got the axe this week.
Devoted fans of Tate feel as though he's being censored and unfairly targeted, but since almost all of his social media posts violated Terms of Service, it's a tough argument to make.
Because of what we now know about the online radicalization of young men, in the wake of mass shootings, assaults and other violent occurrences, social media platforms simply can't take the chance that what Tate's saying is free speech that won't cause harm. They have a responsibility to protect women from violent suggestions and threats, and not to platform a way to create an army of young angry and violent men. Whether it seems unfair or not, the social media platforms (which include Twitter who banned him in 2017) have a duty to cut out users who behave as Tate does, and this round of bans is likely the first volley in a greater attempt to tamp down on hate and violence spread through social media.
TikTok for instance told NPR, "Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok. Our investigation into this content is ongoing, as we continue to remove violative accounts and videos, and pursue measures to strengthen our enforcement, including our detection models, against this type of content."
Are Cardi B and Andrew Tate Totally Twinsies?
In news headlines you didn't think you'd hear this week, Cardi B has defended herself online after being compared to Tate by an MMA fighter.
MMA fighter Jake Shields took to social media to criticize the blanket bans of Tate, writing, "People are freaking out about young boys looking up to Andrew Tate but totally fine with young girls looking up to Cardi B and the Kardashians. Tate’s main message is stop being lazy and making excuses and go work hard and get in shape and make money. Cardi’s is go do drugs, f— random men and go through life as a brain dead moron."
Cardi B quickly clapped back, responding, " 'I'm married, I don't smoke weed, I don't pop pills, I don't do coke. I'm a mom of 2 kids and I do a lot of charity work…but hey let me put cardi into it to defend a man who defend misogyny and rape."
And there you have it. Compare the two at your own risk.