An 18-year-old dentistry student from Lebanon paces outside the fortified compound on the outskirts of Bucharest where Andrew Tate was arrested last week. Omais Hilal has seen posts claiming the 36-year-old has been freed after being detained as part of an investigation into human trafficking, organised crime and rape.
The stories are false – typical, perhaps, of so much of the online chatter provoked by Tate. And Hilal, it appears, seems typical of the young men who have been taken in by his extreme brand of toxic masculinity, which has led domestic abuse charities to warn repeatedly about its radicalising effects, particularly on young boys.
