Andrew Tate, former kickboxer and reality TV star, has been banned from Facebook and Instagram for violating Meta’s policies on ‘dangerous organisations and individuals.’
The controversial social media influencer gained immense popularity after expressing his outrageous views on women, relationships, and masculinity. His Instagram following grew exponentially from 1 million in June to 4.7 million just before his account was shut down.
Let’s dive into the story a little more closely.
Who is Andrew Tate?
Tate, 35, is a former professional kickboxer who won world titles in two different weight divisions.
After his fighting career, he became an entrepreneur and content creator. He founded a modern wealth creation course, “Hustlers University”, which has since been shut down in light of his recent controversy.
Tate first rose to fame in 2016 when he appeared as a contestant on the reality TV show “Big Brother” in the UK. However, that endeavour ended in flames when a video surfaced during his time depicting Tate beating a woman with a belt, which he later claimed was consensual.
Other Controversies
He later attracted criticism and a Twitter ban for his comments on rape within the context of the #MeToo movement.
According to a report in the Metro, Tate tweeted that women should bear some responsibility in rape cases.
Although he prefaced his comments by saying that “sexual harassment is disgusting and inexcusable”, he went on to say that “whistling at you or asking your name is not harassment”. He concluded, “Women have been exchanging sex for opportunity for a very long time […], if you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must bear some responsibility.”
Tate was also a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and is associated with appearances on various right-wing podcasts promoting conspiracy theories, including the popular Infowars podcast hosted by Alex Jones.
Online Influence
Over the last 2 months, the world has seen the rise and fall of Andrew Tate’s career.
He became notorious for unapologetically expressing his views across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and a range of other media platforms.
Uncertainty surrounding whether his content was authentic or banter allowed Tate to gain traction that led him to be the most searched person on Google, exceeding the searches of Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump combined.
This ballooning effect caused by people sharing his content has permanently tainted Tate’s brand, and he now solely recognised for promoting toxic masculinity and his misogynistic standpoint.
This has led to concerns throughout the summer as commentators worry about the content’s effects on young men.
With lots of time on their hands scrolling through social media, many teens have been noticing the sheer volume of Tate’s content appearing on their feeds.
Tate’s matter is the latest high-profile case that puts the practices of social media platforms in the spotlight. Past investigations into social media have proved that some algorithms serve to promote anti-women hate, calling on social media companies to do a much better job of protecting female users. Networks are under increased pressure to step up their efforts to curb the widespread exposure to content that is morally destructive, the consequences of which may soon be reflected in the characters of younger generations.
The Bans
In a vague statement, Meta disclosed that they had shut down Tate’s Facebook and Instagram accounts as his posts violated their policies concerning ‘dangerous organisations and individuals’.
Tate’s official account has since also been banned from TikTok. Videos using the #AndrewTate hashtag have been seen more than 12.7 billon times. Though, in fairness, many of the mentions come in the context of criticism of the influencer.
The company now faces an uphill battle as they attempt to remove all content related to Tate that violates their guidelines.
Tate’s Response
Tate has dismissed what he calls internet sensationalism. He claims many of the videos in question show him playing a comedic character, a parody figure instead of his own personality.
In one YouTube video, Tate doubles down on his status as a misogynist, saying, “I’m a realist, and when you’re a realist, you’re sexist. There’s no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist.” In the same video, he goes on to say that women are “intrinsically lazy” and that there’s “no such thing as an independent female.
He says that these videos portray him as anti-women but that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In a recent Twitch lives stream, Tate claimed that the ban was a personal attack and “kind of flattering”.
He also explained that he believed his content, overall, to be a “positive force” in the world. He claims that he has prevented people from committing suicide, that people had reached out to him saying they’ve never been happier thanks to his content, and that he mainly just encouraged people to motivate themselves to go to the gym etc.
Final Thoughts
Tate’s bans are the most recent iteration of an ongoing discussion related to the legal responsibilities of social media companies concerning problematic influencers.
When and how should social media companies look to prevent the spread of harmful content and deplatform those who spread hate? On the other hand, to what extent does this constitute a restriction on free speech, where should the line be drawn and who gets to determine whether or not content is harmful in the first place?
The fall of Tate serves as a valuable lesson for content creators and influencers. Being deplatformed for violating a social media company’s policies can be fatal to your brand and, as we’ve just seen, can have a domino effect across other platforms that don’t want to be seen as promoting certain behaviour.
While Tate’s case was on the extreme end of things, that is, being banned for violating Meta’s policies on dangerous organisations and individuals, content creators and influencers should be mindful of when their content or particular views may cross a line.
Aside from being banned, over the years we’ve also seen a number of influencers be demonetised, meaning they can no longer earn advertising revenue on the platform, which can be equally as damaging. Further, in the wake of an unfolding scandal, even if it is just speculation, brands are quick to pull out of any influencer sponsorship deals or partnerships to protect their brand reputation and send a message to their customers that they are in no way associated with the influencer’s views or behaviour.
As such, content creators and influencers should familiarise themselves with the Terms of Use and other relevant policies of the platforms they are posting on to avoid long-lasting reputational damage that they may not be able to recover from.
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Mark Lazarus
Mark Lazarus, the visionary behind the business and the fresh blood of the Lazarus Legal team, Mark (or Laz as he is often known) owes much of his success to his past experiences. And he’s made it his personal goal to bring that wisdom and formula to the firm.
