It’s been a rough couple of days for contentious online personality Andrew Tate. The kickboxer turned ‘self-help’ guru was recently banned from Instagram and Facebook, where he had nearly 5 million followers on the former alone. And now, his Hustler’s University affiliate program has reportedly been shut down, effectively ending the barrage of content promoting his online school and controversial views on social media. As you’d expect, the polarising figure has responded to the ‘hate mobs’, claiming his cancelling is entirely unwarranted.
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Image: Instagram
The affiliate marketing scheme is widely regarded as a significant contributor to the success of Tate’s notoriety. On TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, members of his so-called university have been encouraged to recruit new ones by sharing his videos on social media in exchange for a commission. However, an investigative report from The Guardian has suggested the program has been shut down, saying it has ‘no future’. While it’s currently unclear who is behind the shutdown, it comes after a series of social media related blows hit the online personality, who has been labelled an ‘extreme misogynist’ by critics.
For those out of the loop, Hustler’s University is an online educational program with no institutional accreditation where members pay a monthly fee to receive advice on wealth creation methods such as cryptocurrency, e-commerce and stock trading. As Tate’s infamy grew on apps such as Instagram and TikTok, so did his membership base. However, the publication pointed out that the scheme’s closure has resulted in a significant loss of income for the man known as ‘Top G’, with membership statistics dropping from 127,000 to 109,000 in the past two weeks.
Alongside the closure, social media has clamped down on clips in which Tate shares’ hateful views and even banned his personal account. The former Big Brother contestant has previously promoted the idea that a woman is a man’s property when in a relationship, women shouldn’t drive, and women are lazy. According to the BBC, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said it had banned Tate for violating its policies on ‘dangerous organisations and individuals’. TikTok has also promised to take action against his viral content, with a spokesperson telling UNILAD: “Misogyny and other hateful ideologies and behaviours are not tolerated on TikTok, and we are working to review this content and take action against violations of our guidelines.
Image: Youtube
Tate has clapped back at the social media bans, claiming the tech giants are “bowing to pressure” and ignoring the “good deeds he had done. “It is very unfortunate that old videos of me, where I was playing a comedic character, have been taken out of context and amplified to the point where people believe absolutely false narratives about me,” he told the UK’s Mirror newspaper.
“In the last two weeks, I dedicated over $1 million to charities supporting women,” he continued. “I posted this on Instagram, but Instagram ignored it. Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that I am anti-women when nothing could be further from the truth. This is simply hate mobs who are uninterested in the facts of the matter trying to personally attack me.”
While Tate continues to argue that his misogynistic views are ‘an act’, there’s no questioning the negative impact his videos have had on society. With an audience base that is reportedly “95 per cent” male, including a significant number of boys between the ages of 16-25, Tate’s online presence has brought an uncomfortable level of toxic masculinity to the surface. Alarmingly, Tate’s influence is now working its way into primary schools, propmpting one teacher to issue a stark warning about the controversial TikToker. In a clip shared online, the woman, who claims to be a sixth-grade teacher, stated that boys as young as 11 have expressed their love for Tate, replicating his behaviour in the classroom by labelling young girls “fat” and accusing them of “using men to get money”.
“We’ve been in school for three days now and within these three days the amount of young 11-year-old boys that have told me that they love Andrew Tate is ridiculous,” the woman says in the video, which was posted to TikTok earlier this month. “This man is really affecting the minds of young men.”
For Tate, who has previously talked about choking women and once claimed that he moved to Romania because it is “easier to get off on rape charges”, the social media bans may go some way to quieten his voice, however, it’s unclear whether they will quash his notoriety. According to The Australian, in the last month, Tate’s name was Googled more times than Kim Kardashian or Donald Trump, and while his personal TikTok has been permanently banned, videos featuring his controversial views are often posted by fans, and go on to generate millions of views.
Speaking with SBS News, a spokesperson for TikTok confirmed that as per the platform’s community guidelines, it does not allow any kind of hateful behaviour or ideology, revealing that some content is now being labelled as ineligible for recommendation to the For You feed.
“Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve been removing violative videos and accounts for weeks, and we welcome the news that other platforms are also taking action against this individual.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone, please contact National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Counselling Service 24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732. The Men’s Referral Service also provides advice for men on domestic violence and can be contacted on 1300 766 491.
