A survey has revealed that about 26 percent of young men share Andrew Tate's opinions on how women ought to be treated. The Independent obtained data from YouGov that shows the percentage of British men, between the ages of 18 and 29, who had heard of the sexist influencer agreed with his views on women.
The opinion of Tate, a former kickboxing world champion turned ‘success coach’, is supported by about 28 percent of males between the ages of 30 and 39. Three out of ten men in the 30 to 39 age group who knew him shared his opinions on what it means to be a man, but just a quarter of men in the 18 to 29 age group did the same.
‘A dangerous mask’
The influencer is a ‘legitimizing force’ for sexist views, according to campaigners, and his opulent lifestyle is ‘a dangerous mask’ for ‘violent and misogynistic content’ that is ‘drip-fed’ to his followers.
Over 2,000 people in Britain were polled, and the results showed that 93 percent of males between the ages of 18 and 29 and 86 percent of men between the ages of 30 and 39 had heard of Tate.
Tate was detained in Romania in late December together with his brother Tristan Tate and two other suspects. Tate has more than 6 million followers on Twitter. They are charged with rape, human trafficking, and setting up a gang to engage in sexual exploitation of women.
‘A legitimizing force’
The Independent was informed by Rosie Carter, head of policy at Hope not Hate, that while Tate's views on women are ‘not new’, he acts as a ‘legitimizing force"’for such views and keeps them ‘live in conversation’. His misogynistic propaganda videos ‘have a long shelf life’ online, she continued.
“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,” she said.
As Carter cautioned her attempts to define what a true man is ‘dangerous’ as they might become ‘aspirational for young men’, she added Tate positions himself as someone who is ‘pushing boundaries’ who is only ‘telling the truth’.
