Meta has banned controversial online influencer Andrew Tate from Facebook and Instagram for violating its policies.
Main points:
- Meta has banned influencer Andrew Tate from Facebook and Instagram for violating its policies
- Andrew Tate had 4.7 million followers on Instagram before the ban
- Ex-kickboxer says his videos were ‘taken out of context’
The 35-year-old former kickboxer has an audience of millions on social media and is known for his opinions on women.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, said the company removed Tate’s official accounts from its social media platforms for violating the company’s “dangerous organizations and individuals” policies.
A comment has been requested by ABC from Meta.
Why is Andrew Tate removed?
Tate has come under fire on social media in recent months, accused of spreading misogynistic messages, with TikTok criticized for promoting its content to minors.
As anti-violence advocates have grown increasingly concerned about his growing following, domestic violence campaigner Tarang Chawla said Tate’s ban was really only the “first step”.
“[Tate’s] The rise points to a culture of masculinity that needs guidance,” Mr Chawla said.
“I feel relieved that he is now unable to use Facebook and Instagram, but we have to admit that his videos are still shared on TikTok.”
Mr Chawla said divided opinions online, especially for impressionable youth, could be damaging and was an opportunity for redirection.
“Those young men need guidance and direction and purpose. And that raises the need for a larger conversation about modern masculinity. Why are young men attracted to it?
“They’re looking for an idea of what it means to be a man. We have to accept that and offer better alternatives.”
The rise of Andrew Tate in social media
Last month, Tate generated more Google searches than Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian combined.
In videos posted online, Tate, who poses with cars or guns and portrays herself as a cigarette-smoking playboy, talks about hitting women and stopping them from going out.
Videos using hashtags related to Andrew Tate have been viewed more than 12.7 billion times.
At the time of his ban from the Meta platforms, Tate had more than 4.7 million followers on Instagram.
He first rose to fame after appearing on the UK TV show Big Brother in 2016, when he was forced to leave the series after a video of him beating a woman with a belt surfaced.
Tate went on to gain internet notoriety in 2017 after saying that women should “bear some responsibility” for sexual assault, after which Twitter permanently banned her from the platform.
In his latest response to Meta’s launch, Tate said in a statement to a UK newspaper that his Instagram account had been banned because old videos “of me playing a comic character” were “out of context”. .
“I have nothing but positivity to spread about all people, male or female, and that has been reflected in all of my recent messages and posts,” Tate said in the statement.
He claimed that Instagram ignored his charities supporting women and his videos explaining that his mother was his hero.
Born in Chicago, USA and raised in Luton, England, Tate now lives in Romania.
