Following Meta’s decision to ban Mr. Tate from Facebook and Instagram, the Google-owned social media platform took appropriate action.
The former kickboxer gained notoriety in 2016 after being fired from the reality TV programme Big Brother due to a video that purported to show him assaulting a lady.
He continued to become well-known online, and Twitter eventually banned him for his comments that women should “carry responsibility” for being sexually attacked.
When he was kicked off of Big Brother in 2016, Mr. Tate claimed the contentious footage had been altered and described it as “a pure fake attempting to make myself appear terrible.”
The BBC received the following statement from YouTube’s owner, Google: “We deleted channels connected to Andrew Tate for repeatedly breaking our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, including our hate speech policy.
The uploader is not permitted to use, own, or create any further YouTube channels after a channel has been deleted.
Each of Mr. Tate’s YouTube channels has more than a million subscribers.
Intolerant ideology
As part of an ongoing investigation to remove information that violates company regulations, TikTok has also blocked an account that belonged to Mr. Tate.
According to a spokeswoman for TikTok, “Misogyny is a vile ideology and is not accepted on TikTok,” the BBC said.
“We’ve been taking down offensive videos and accounts for weeks, so it’s encouraging to hear that other platforms are also taking action against this person.”
At the time his account was deleted, Tate had 4.7 million followers on Instagram. From a little over a million followers in June, that number increased quickly.
Without providing any other information, Meta stated that the kickboxing celebrity had been banned from its platforms for breaking its rules about harmful organisations and people.
Mr. Tate has been contacted by the BBC for comment.
Analysis
By Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media correspondent
This summer, Andrew Tate’s misogynistic and anti-women videos gained popularity, and many teenagers have commented on how frequently they’ve seen him on their social media feeds.
Concerns regarding the potential effects of his content in the real world have been expressed, particularly with regard to the younger users who may be exposed to it over the summer when they have more free time.
The spotlight has mostly been on TikTok, where people claim they have easily access to Mr. Tate’s films, which has sparked a fresh wave of videos commenting on and criticising his content.
Since he has amassed millions of views on YouTube, the platform has also been under attack.
For BBC Panorama, I described how social media platforms encourage anti-women xenophobia. The studies revealed how certain platforms’ algorithms were directing a troll account toward more and more misogynistic content.
Since then, a number of websites have vowed to do more to safeguard female users. However, concerns are being voiced once more regarding the part social media platforms play in disseminating anti-women propaganda.
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For his remarks, Mr. Tate has come under fire online, especially from the UK advocacy organisation Hope Not Hate, which last week applauded Meta’s suspension.
Mr. Tate “poses a significant threat to young males, radicalising them towards extremist sexism, racism, and homophobia,” according to Joe Mulhall, the organization’s head of research.
“We’ve submitted extensive information regarding his activities and the reasons he ought to be removed to the main social media networks, including Meta,” he continued.
‘Absolutely a misogynist’
Social media sites have seen a rise in the popularity of videos featuring Mr. Tate, especially on TikTok, where films tagged with the #AndrewTate hashtag have had more than 12.7 billion views.
However, this figure includes videos created by people who are critical of the influencer as well as ones of Tate and his fans.
Some of his most well-liked YouTube videos have received millions of views.
He said in one video when he was being interviewed by another YouTuber that he was “I’m a realist, and when you’re a realism you’re sexist, therefore you’re obviously a misogynist,” he continued. You cannot be grounded in reality and not be sexist.”
He further said that women are “intrinsically sluggish” and that there is “no such thing as an autonomous female” in the same video.
Mr. Tate stated in a previous video that “I must have some kind of power” if I have duty for her.
If a dog won’t obey you, you can’t be accountable for it, he said.
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