Facebook hosts vile Andrew Tate content despite its own ban
Facebook has enabled misogynist influencer Andrew Tate to gain nine million followers despite a pledge to ban him.
The 36-year-old was removed from social media platforms last year for sharing harmful content – including saying rape victims should “bear responsibility” for being attacked.
Tate, a dual US/UK citizen who grew up in Luton, Beds, is facing charges of rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group in Romania, which he denies. Yet despite its own ban, Facebook hosted a “verified page” in his name for over a month – only removing it after being alerted by this newspaper. By then, it had built up a following of almost nine million likes.
Liking a page on Facebook is similar to the “follow” option on other sites, adding its posts to a user’s homepage. Facebook says its verified badge is a tool to help “find people and brands’ real pages”, adding: “If a page or profile has the badge, we’ve confirmed it represents who it says it does.” More than 90% of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising, meaning it benefits from extra visitors.
One alleged Tate victim accused the site and other platforms of putting profit before safety. She said: “Like the other women, I know what Tate says online isn’t a joke. I know because he put his ideologies into practice when he abused me and many others. I don’t think the potential harm should his influence remain can be overstated.” The woman, who claims Tate raped her in 2014, added: “These companies are profiting from their failure to tackle Tate-related content.”
Bearded Andrew Tate looks disheveled as he arrives at court for latest hearing
Tate’s content can still be viewed across hundreds of accounts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. One British user on YouTube is estimated to have made £100,000 by resharing Tate’s banned content. Several videos, reposted from his website, have 500,000 views.
We also found hund-reds of copycat accounts on Instagram sharing Tate’s content, including references to violence against women. One video montage called “Kiss or slap?” showed a scantily-clad woman and Tate making a slapping gesture.
Tate rose to prominence sharing slickly-produced videos aimed at male audiences, which were criticised for promoting misogynistic views.
Jess Eagelton, of domestic abuse charity Refuge, said: “It’s alarming that content from banned users can even still exist on social platforms, even once accounts have been removed.” And Teresa Parker of Women’s Aid warned: “The only way to deal with this type of content is being able to more effectively track and remove it.”
Tate is awaiting trial in Romania. He cannot leave the country and must report to police when ordered to. His brother Tristan, 35, and two Romanian women have also been charged. They all deny the allegations.
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said: “We have removed the associated account, as well as others.
“We banned Andrew Tate in August last year, which includes removing his accounts and continuing to remove new accounts that claim to belong to him when we become aware of them.”
YouTube said: “We terminated [a] channel for violations of our Terms of Service by allowing a terminated user to bypass their termination.”
It said it last year terminated channels associated with Tate for multiple violations and he can no longer own or create any other channels.
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