Influencer Andrew Tate has been blocked on Facebook and Instagram.
Following online calls from activists for him to be deplatformed, content producer and influencer Andrew Tate was kicked off of Facebook and Instagram for breaking Meta's rules.
A representative for Meta confirmed to BuzzFeed News that he had been banned from Facebook and Instagram, but they would not say whether the ban was permanent or what particular rules he had broken.
Matt Bernstein, a queer content creator, labelled Tate's online presence as "hazardous" in a popular Instagram post last week. Bernstein cited Tate's violent, anti-gay, and misogynistic remarks made throughout his multiple podcast appearances.
Tate's fame has increased over the last few weeks as a result of videos and tweets that went viral and contained extremely offensive statements about women. These include a clip in which he refers to women as "property" and a tweet in which he asserts that women should bear "some responsibility" for sexual assault.
According to analytics site Social Blade, the British American had 4.7 million followers at the time of his removal from Instagram, 2 million of whom he had gained in the previous 30 days.
Social media users mocked Tate for his misogyny in response to his increasing fame by giving him a yassify makeover.
In a statement given to BuzzFeed News on Friday, Ruth Davison, CEO of Refuge, a British organisation that supports women and children who are victims of domestic abuse, praised the decision to block Tate's account "the appropriate choice."
Facebook and Instagram have now suspended Andrew Tate. According to BBC News, the two social media platforms' owner, Meta, withdrew the controversial influencer and former kickboxer on Friday.
Tate's account, which had 4.7 million followers, according to Meta, broke rules regarding risky groups and people. This action fits with Tate's receiving more and more criticism. Although he describes himself as a life counsellor, many claim he uses the platforms to promote violence, homophobia, rape culture, and misogyny to young men.
Tate was already expelled from Twitter before Meta expelled him for saying that women should "carry responsibility" for being sexually attacked. Tate is currently banned from three major websites, but he is still active on TikTok, which seems to be his main outlet as seen by the 13.2 billion views his hashtag has received.
Tate "has been preying upon the mental health of young men to manipulate, gaslight, and abuse them, which he then exploits to groom these young men and boys into hating women, girls, and gay people," according to the petitioners. They pointed to Tate's "Hustler's University," a subscriber-based network where he teaches money-making strategies to mostly young males, as an important channel for recruiting new members.
Naturally, both sides used Twitter to air their opinions about Instagram and Facebook.