The controversial Andrew Tate has lost his most recent appeal against his continued detention in Romania for alleged human trafficking and organised crime. But despite his absence following his arrest, supporters have continued spreading his various messages.
The former kickboxer's ability to reach people should not be underestimated, with boys and men parroting his rhetoric and causing parents and teachers to raise concerns. While Tate identifies himself as apolitical, child safeguarding expert Michael Conroy told The Mirror "he has impact", which could end up influencing British politics.
Hope Not Hate conducted a recent study and found that 74 per cent of males aged 18 to 24 had consumed Tate in a form of media, with almost half viewing him in a positive light. This starkly contracts just nine per cent of women in the same demographic that viewed him as a positive figure - which further declines for 16 and 17-year-old females.
For 16 and 17-year-old boys, Tate was far more recognisable than even the most prominent political figures in Britain, with only around half of boys knowing who Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is, and opposition leader Keir Starmer even further behind at 32 per cent.
Conroy, who founded Men At Work which supports young men, explained: "He's got influence. He can tip people's ways of interpreting phenomena in their lives either one way or another and that's really political. That's really powerful."
The safeguarding expert added: "Politics is also often a way of shoring up your own position and making material gain and in that sense, Tate has got rich through taxing the fear of boys.
"If he were to align with some candidates somewhere, that would bring a block of voters so he's a potential political force, whether he chooses to see himself that way or not."
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Tate has amassed a following primarily of young men and boys by giving his own personal brand of advice on how to get ahead in life. However the British-American has been heavily criticised as a conspiracy theorist who champions misogynistic views and incites violence against women and girls.
Thanks to TikTok's algorithm and other "echo chambers" online, the more you engage with content the more that is churned out to you. This lead to a gap between what Conroy calls "kid's internet" and "adult internet", exacerbated by the fact many parents no longer check their kids' phones for fear of invading their privacy.
Despite working with children, the safeguarding expert did not hear of Tate until late in 2022 when the influencer already had gained notoriety online - Tate was then arrested in December that year.
The responsibility does not lie completely at Tate's door, however, as Conroy points to porn as a major factor in "desensitising" boys. He explained: "I don't know that many people really grasp exactly how ubiquitous it is, and how much of a formative force it is in young minds.
"So if you've been brought up understanding sex through the prism of porn. It desensitises men in terms of women and shows that they are the doer and the done to, subject and object, that has very powerful force on a child whose brain is nowhere near fully developed."
The safeguarding expert added: "I think not enough people are really making a connection with porn, it seems obvious to me, who are the foot soldiers? The boys that are under the influence of porn."
In his experience, creating a safe space for boys to express themselves is key to preventing them falling down "incel rabbit holes". Working with young boys, Conroy sees them as fearful of approaching girls and unable to form bonds because they are told they will be accused of harassment.
"I think Tate understands the emotional turmoil, frustration, or whatever that might be that is inculcated into some boys," Conroy explained, "It's a kind of therapy, he's saying to them 'your feelings that I know you've got, you can put them down because it's right that we do this' and to a young mind that's very appealing."
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