The former kickboxer has attracted scrutiny for clips where he appeared to endorse hitting women — and in others, he claimed they were the property of their husbands.
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A crypto trader and influencer has been banned from multiple social networks after coming under scrutiny for violent, misogynistic videos.
Andrew Tate has attracted scrutiny for clips where he appeared to endorse hitting women — and in others, he claimed they were the property of their husbands.
He has also been accused of posting homophobic and racist slurs over the years — questioning whether depression is real, and claiming women "bear some responsibility" for sexual abuse.
Footage of the former kickboxer has spread like wildfire online in recent months, with students of his self-proclaimed "Hustler's University" encouraged to spread the videos online through fan accounts.
Tech giants have been facing growing calls to take action because the content falls afoul of their guidelines — with some domestic abuse charities claiming that the videos could "radicalize" young men.
Facebook and Instagram initially took action on Friday after declaring that his videos infringed their policies — and the dominoes continued to fall from here.
TikTok followed up with a ban on Monday, and now, YouTube has enforced a permanent suspension because some of his videos constituted hate speech.
Despite TikTok and YouTube's proclamations, countless videos of Andrew Tate are still available on both of their platforms — indicating that enforcing a sitewide ban, rather than targeting just one account, may be easier said than done.
While reports have suggested that Amazon-owned Twitch was yet to take action against Tate, it appears he has closed down his channel on this streaming platform of his own accord.
Tate Fights Back
Now banned by the vast majority of major social networks, Tate appears to be unrepentant — with his spokesperson telling Bloomberg:
"There is a running contradiction in today's society where men are encouraged to speak and be open/honest with how they feel but are generally met with a negative response to their truth. Banning Andrew Tate from these platforms might seem the answer, but it isn't that simple. Removing Tate's voice doesn’t allow for a kinder hate-free society."
Some in the crypto space will point to these bans as proof that greater levels of decentralization are needed — and would argue that, despite the problematic content, any form of censorship is unacceptable.
But it is fair to say that Tate isn't being silenced altogether, and there's little doubt that he will continue to post videos behind the walled garden of Hustler's University.
What remains to be seen is whether his removal from social networks will have an impact on the number of people who are signing up for an account.
