Many people won’t have heard the name Andrew Tate before last week.
The social media influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist was arrested in Romania last Thursday on charges of human trafficking, rape and organised crime.
His brother was also arrested on the same charges.
In response to the allegations, Andrew Tate’s spokesperson said the pair have the “upmost respect’’ for the Romanian authorities and would assist with the investigation in any way they can.
News of Tate’s arrest prompted a huge reaction on social media.
Some suggested the widespread coverage and condemnation of Andrew Tate plays into his hands.
After all, controversy around his extremist opinions is what catapulted Tate to fame in the first place.
He has been banned from numerous social media platforms – including, until recently, Twitter – and that didn’t stop him growing an army of dedicated followers.
If anything, notoriety has been good for business.
So should we just ignore Andrew Tate and men like him?
Without the oxygen of controversy, might their influence be lessened?
I don’t think so.
Andrew Tate is shaping young men’s minds
Make no mistake, Andrew Tate is an extremist who uses social media to radicalise susceptible young men.
And we ignore these increasingly dangerous online misogynists at our peril.
In Tate’s videos he promotes the idea that women are the property of men and includes descriptions of violence against women in his hate-filled rants.
He speaks of choking women, destroying their belongings and exercising control over who they see and what they do.
It is no surprise that domestic abuse charities have categorised Tate’s ideology as “extreme misogyny’’.
In one video, he speaks about what he would do if he found out a partner had cheated on him.
“It’s bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up, bitch’’ he said.
Andrew Tate makes money from selling this warped vision to the men who follow him.
It’s a world where all their problems are caused by women and one where violent masculinity is the only route to success – both in life, and in love.
yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com https://t.co/V8geeVvEvg
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) December 28, 2022
It’s easy to dismiss those who have been taken in by Andrew Tate as gullible fools.
But many young men are having their views on sex and relationships shaped by individuals like Tate.
And some without real-life experience of what healthy relationships look like are all too willing to believe the vile distortion that Andrew Tate offers.
Ignoring extremism won’t make it go away
The internet isn’t some abstract space separate from normal life.
There will be men who have watched Tate’s videos about how natural it is for a man to dominate and control his partner and carry that belief into their real-life interactions with women.
I’m not for one second suggesting that we should have sympathy for the men who spend their days consuming content about how stupid and unworthy of respect women are.
But the first step to deradicalisation is acknowledging the problem.
Today, there are thousands of young men who are about to ingest their next fix of misogynist propaganda.
Andrew Tate has convinced them that a nourishing, respectful partnership with a woman is unattainable.
And that is astonishingly sad, when you stop to think about it.
Despite his flashy videos full of luxury cars and expensive goods, Andrew Tate is the king of low-expectations.
He is telling these men they aren’t good enough.
That real love – in all its silly, exhilarating, beautiful glory – isn’t something they can achieve, so they must settle for a partnership based on fear and submission instead.
The toxic hold that Andrew Tate has on so many of his followers won’t simply disappear of its own accord.
Ignoring him isn’t an option.
Extremism has to be tackled head-on.
Conversation