Around a quarter of young men agree with Andrew Tate’s views on how women should be treated, a poll has found.
YouGov data seen by The Independent reveals that 26 per cent of men in the UK aged between 18 and 29 who had heard of the misogynistic influencer agreed with his opinions on women.
Some 28 per cent of men between 30 and 39 who had heard of Mr Tate, a former kickboxing world champion turned “success coach”, back his outlook on women.
Three in 10 men aged between 30 and 39 who were aware of him agreed with his views on masculinity and what being a man involves, while a quarter of men in the 18 to 29 age bracket backed Mr Tate on this.
Campaigners told The Independent the influencer is a “legitimising force” for misogynistic ideas and his luxurious lifestyle is “a dangerous mask” for “violent and misogynistic content” which is “drip-fed” to his audience.
Pollsters, who surveyed over 2,000 people in Britain, discovered 93 per cent of 18 to 29-year-old men had heard of Mr Tate, while 86 per cent of men aged between 30 and 39 knew of him.
Mr Tate, who has more than 6 million Twitter followers, was arrested in Romania in late December alongside his brother Tristan Tate and two other suspects. They are accused of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The influencer was released from jail with his younger brother at the beginning of April after they won an appeal to be held under house arrest – with the influencer seeing his house arrest extended for an additional 30 days last month. All four deny the allegations and none have been charged.
Pollsters discovered 63 per cent of British adults have heard of Tate – with 6 per cent holding a positive view of the social media personality and around half having a negative opinion of him.
There was a substantial difference between men and women’s views on Mr Tate, with 12 per cent of males having a favourable view of him and 3 per cent of women holding a positive opinion.
YouGov provided those surveyed with a list of some of his most controversial views about women:
- The influencer has suggested rape victims “bear some responsibility” for being assaulted
- He has referred to married women as “property” that their husbands own
- The influencer has said in a heterosexual relationship the woman should remain at home
- Tate has argued it is wrong for women to have lots of sexual partners but men are allowed to
Rosie Carter, director of policy at Hope not hate, told The Independent the ideas Mr Tate pushes about women are “not new” but that he is a “legitimising force” for misogynistic ideas and keeps them “live in conversation”. His videos pushing misogyny “have a long shelf life” online, she added.
“Tate is hinting at things that bring out people’s worst instincts,” she said. “Tate’s content can open the door to young men encountering more extreme content. If the extreme misogyny appeals to them, it can become more extreme. They could potentially end up exploring far-right forums.”
Ms Carter explained Mr Tate frames himself as someone “pushing boundaries” who is simply “telling the truth” as she warned his attempts to define what a real man is are “dangerous” as it can become “aspirational for young men”.
“It is part of this anti-equality agenda where status and power become attached to the male gender and being a real man is all about having power and status over others including women,” she added.
Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said it is “hugely concerning” and the survey demonstrates “Tate continues to wield influence on a significant proportion of younger men, who say they agree with his views on women, masculinity and how to be a man”.
She added: “His portrayal of a successful, lavish lifestyle, which is fully intended to target and appear aspirational for boys and men, is a dangerous mask for the violent and misogynistic content being drip-fed to his young viewers.”
The Independent previously reported on research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) which unearthed 47 videos of Mr Tate pushing what it describes as “extreme misogyny”.
The report uncovered adverts on videos where Mr Tate discusses fighting women, saying “grip her up by the neck” in a video, which has been viewed 1.6 million times, as well as referring to putting his “imprint” on 18 to 19-year-old women in footage viewed 8.4 million times.
