This story also appears in the March 2023 print edition of The Heights Herald.

Impacts of social media on young people is a discussion that has been creeping up more and more in recent times. With the ability and ease to contact anyone from anywhere and gain access to any number of unique perspectives, you end up almost bound to run into problematic posts. Viral influencer and alleged criminal Andrew Tate’s massive campaign on TikTok is no different. 

Emory Andrew Tate III, better known simply as Andrew Tate, rose to prominence during the summer last year, broadcasting massively on apps and platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Quickly made famous for edits and compilations made typically by young teenage boys to extend his reach exponentially, Tate got up to 11.6 billion TikTok views in a matter of weeks. These videos promoted everything from a kind of harsh “tough-love” approach to going to the gym and weird takes on the social constructs of masculinity and femininity in the modern world, often stereotyping “feminine traits” like being sensitive and showing certain reactions like crying with weakness and fragility. 

Let’s specifically look into the comments and detriments he has made towards women and men. 

After recounting an anecdote of a woman getting in a car crash, Tate asked his followers, many of whom are impressionable young men, “How are women allowed to drive?” He later went on to debate his position with political streamer Hasan Piker. Yet even after being faced with statistically proven evidence against his point, he continued to run a vicious and (to say the least) problematic defense of his narrative. 

When talking about nuances of intimate relations between men and women, Tate referred to women as property, using phrases like “the fact that she belongs to him” when mentioning girlfriends and wives. When given a platform on British broadcast show Piers Morgan Uncensored to apologize or at least admit his mistake, he deflected, claiming the context was not understood and defended his word. While phrasing and diction is important, it’s completely inappropriate to ignore the historical context of women’s rights in relationships, whether it’s domestic abuse, rampant societal objectification or any other struggle women, and only women, have faced for centuries. 

Along with extremely questionable verbal comments, Tate has posted numerous insensitive tweets about sexual assault; one read, “Secondly – harvey. (In relation to the Harvey Weinstein rape and abuse allegations) Creep? Obviously. But women have been exchanging sex for opportunity for a very long time. Some did this. Weren’t abused.” Another stated, “Next point, if you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must bare some responsibility. I’m not saying it’s OK you got raped.” 

Stating you must “bare” (he meant “bear,” but words clearly aren’t his strong suit) responsibility of rape if you “put yourself in a position” of being raped is disgusting. In fact, it lingers on the same rhetoric used when people blame victims for clothing choices or walking alone at night. The only person needing to be held responsible for rape is the rapist.

“It feels sickening that, like there are still men and just people out there still willing to say stuff like that,” Neveah Larson (11) said. “And he might be trying to get power, but that is not an okay way to do it. You shouldn’t be able to get power by saying [things] like this.”

 Now, how have all these abhorrent comments impacted social media users? Business Insider conducted interviews with multiple teachers from all over America, many of whom recounted some memorable quotes and beliefs young boys have stated after watching Tate. A teacher from Kentucky recalled hearing a male student say, “We’re gonna just smash them all to the ground, destroy all their confidence. It’s the same mindset my Grandpa had — that women take care of us, but we’re gonna control you.” The teacher went on to note how students started idolizing the 1950s and the restrictions on women due to Tate.

High School Teacher Cassidy Pope recalled hearing multiple boys in her class dehumanize women, stating they are only to be used for procreation and belong in the kitchen. To look outside the scope of United States schools, a study conducted by Man Cave sampled 500 Australian young boys and 92% knew who Andrew Tate was, and of that number, 36% found him relatable. 

“Responsibility is a part of every livelihood of our society, and when Andrew Tate’s sexist actions are being seen and influenced in the young generation on social media, I only wonder what the future will hold for us,” Brant Bueno (11) said.

But it doesn’t stop in North America and Australia. Member of the British Parliament, Alex Davies-Jones, called out Tate for threats toward her that emerged from his fans. She has since come forward to talk about the experience. 

“I have spoken out about the horrendous abuse and behavior of Andrew Tate online. As a result, my own inbox and my office have been bombarded with death threats [and] rape threats.”As a response to the comments and fallout of his and his followers’ actions, social media platforms took to deplatform Tate. Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok each had a spokesperson come forward stating that their content monitoring programs would focus on reuploads of his content. Tate was also previously banned in 2017 on Twitter, but his account was reinstated in November 2022 when similarly problematic public figure Elon Musk took over the social media giant.

In what can only be described as karmic payment, on December 29, 2022, Tate was detained by Romanian authorities for charged of human trafficking and rape. He is currently still in custody after a third extension to his detention was added on February 1. Not much confirmed public information is available as of now, but amidst the arrest, multiple clips have resurfaced and new allegations have arisen.

In particular, YouTuber and criminal lawyer Bruce Rivers uncovered a self-incriminating video that Tate published on an unknown date where he details running a webcam business, using emotional connection and manipulation against his employees, fitting into the narrative of what’s known on questionable circles of the internet as the Loverboy Trafficking Method. Screenshots of Tate’s website claiming “Over 50% of my employees were actually my girlfriend at the time,” in reference to the webcam studio he ran, and “NONE were in the adult entertainment industry before they met me.”

Tate had already been arrested in 2015 for the alleged rape of a women but was not prosecuted. Vice reported an article showcasing text messages and voice messages one of Tate’s victims from around this time period came forward with a voice memo of Tate stating, “Am I a bad person because the more you didn’t like it the more I enjoyed it?” 

Tate’s behavior and statements online and in the real world have massively impacted many people. It is so often we open TikTok for a break or quick hit of dopamine every day. But while we might just think we’re watching videos, we should also stop and think about the real impact every click, swipe or second we give to dangerous and powerful people. Everyone should make an active effort to know who and what we are watching, but at the end of the day, it’s up to the authorities to hold these dangerous and powerful people accountable.