Andrew Tate has substantial links with far right, campaigners warn

Andrew Tate has substantial connections with the far right which means the influencer is a danger to young men and teenage boys, campaigners have warned.

Hope not Hate, a campaign group, argued the 35-year-old self-avowed “success coach” has routinely been accused of misogyny but his links to the far right are far less well-known.

New research conducted by the organisation, which is calling for Tate to be removed from social media platforms, suggested the public is less aware of his “long history of racist statements, homophobia and links to the organised far-right”.

It comes as Meta banned Tate from Facebook and Instagram on Friday for infringing its rules, while TikTok banned him on Monday for breaching the video-sharing platform’s policies.

Hope not Hate notes Tate recently stated he had spent time with Tommy Robinson “untold times”, referring to the former English Defence League leader as being a “solid guy” with a “good heart”.

While in a separate interview from 2022 unveiled by the charity, Tate states: “If you look at Tommy Robinson, he is doing his very best to protect England from Islamisation.”

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Lennon, is a British activist known for his Islamophobic and far right views.

“He has spent time with an array of figures from across the Anglo-American far right, including conspiracy theorists Paul Joseph Watson and Jack Posobiec,” Hope not Hate states. “Mike Cernovich also visited the Tate brothers in Romania in 2019, describing them as his ‘friends’ in the description of his podcast.”

The organisation also notes Tate has referred to Alex Jones, who has been dubbed America’s leading conspiracy theorist, as being “one of the greatest men on the planet”. Jones, a prominent voice of the so-called “alt-right” movement in the US, is the founder of far-right conspiracy site InfoWars.

Joe Mulhall, who is the director of research at Hope not Hate, said they “have been monitoring Andrew Tate for years due to his long history of violent and extremist statements and close association with high profile far right figures such as Tommy Robinson.”

He added: “Tate poses a genuine threat to young men, radicalising them towards extremism misogyny, racism and homophobia.

“We’ve provided significant evidence to the major social media platforms, about his activity and why he must be removed. They must act now to prevent further spread of these extremist views.”

Tate, whose fame has grown considerably in recent weeks, has previously referred to married women as “property” that their husbands own. The former Big Brother star, who had 4.6 million Instagram followers, claims women should “shut the f*** up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee” in footage where he talks about feminism.

Nick Lowles, chief executive of Hope not Hate, said: “Andrew Tate’s social media content attempts to normalise extreme misogyny and conspiracy theory. It’s clear from his ‘Hustler University’ that young men and boys are his target.

“Whilst Hope not Hate are calling on tech platforms to do the right thing, it’s essential that teachers and parents are aware of how dangerous Tate’s content is and are able to recognise the signs of hate.

“They should be on the lookout for talk of the ‘manosphere’, ‘red pills’ and so-called ‘men’s rights activists’.”

In a clip which has now been deleted, Tate claimed he relocated to Romania to dodge criminal consequences for perpetrating sexual violence.

He says this is “probably 40 per cent of the reason” he decided to go to Romania, as he said: “I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free.” He also argued, back in 2017 on Twitter, that women should take “some responsibility” when they are sexually assaulted.

The influencer previously defended himself in comments to The Independent, saying he also makes “many videos praising women”.

He added: “It has nothing to do for hate for women. It’s simply about good and bad people. My mother is my hero. I play an online character and am brash and bravado but my views are pure and simply say to find the highest value men and women you can with good hearts.”

Tate was kicked off the 17th season of Big Brother in 2016 after footage emerged of him appearing to hit a woman with a belt – with him responding to the video by saying the behaviour was consensual.

Tate, who has seen a hashtag of his name accrue over 13 billion views on TikTok, states “women can’t drive”, and claims men can cheat whereas women are not allowed to do so, and previously referred to married women as “property” that their husbands own.