What is Andrew Tate's secret social media formula that's so irresistible to incels?

Despite being banished from every social media platform in recent months, there's simply one name people cannot escape: Andrew Tate.

Tate's name spread like wildfire across social media last year, attracting attention for his misogynistic and problematic stances on life.

For some, he's the new toxic masculinity mascot who has (worryingly) been hailed the new voice of the internet. Others have understandably been left concerned by what comes out of his unfiltered mouth.

For the blissfully unaware (or, as some would call the lucky ones), he's crudely called women over 30 "unattractive" and hit out at women who have had multiple partners, calling them "carousels". He's also called heterosexual men "weak" for living with their partners.

And this is just the tip of the Tate iceberg, who is currently jailed in connection with an investigation into human trafficking, rape and organised crime charges.

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While his socials might be dead (bar Twitter, thanks to Elon Musk), his cult following is still thriving.

Tate's name and spiralling influence are everywhere, with diehard Tate fans sending death threats to anyone who speaks against their idol. Take TikToker Hannah Chen, who was inundated with vile threats after claiming he manipulates weak men to make himself richer. Radio host Abbie Chatfield also felt the wrath of Tate fans when she spoke about his controversies during a segment on her show.

His ideologies have even poured into the classroom, prompting teachers to advise on diminishing Tate's influence. "It may only be a matter of time before boys you teach begin to display disturbing attitudes in your classroom," one assistant headteacher wrote.

The toxic masculinity mascot has appeared to secure an irresistible incel formula – and we wanted to understand how.

"Simply put, he has nailed the shock factor," Jamie Love, CEO & Founder of Monumental, said before comparing him to the likes of the Tinder Swindler and Tiger King's Joe Exotic, who share similarities in the sense of "relying on controversy to remain relevant".

Tate's name has garnered over 13 billion views on TikTok alone – and the content doesn't even belong to an official account of his.

Fan-posted content is still present on TikTok. However, there has been a drastic change to have the problematic snippets removed. As it stands, most of the viral clips on the platform making the rounds show, what some have labelled, his "funny" moments.

A TikTok spokesman said after he was banned in August: "Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok.

"We've been removing violative videos and accounts for weeks, and we welcome the news that other platforms are also taking action against this individual."

YouTube

With Tate's name in the media and more people intrigued to find out who this controversial man (who came out of nowhere) is, there's no surprise content is becoming more discoverable to social media users.

"The issue is, if something is seen as news-worthy content, it will be served to many more people than just those who may share his radical views," Jamie told Indy100. "That said, many of us will engage with content when we don't agree with it purely from a curiosity standpoint, which will feed our intrigue but also allow us to be a part of the conversation, even when we completely disagree."

Much of the controversial internet personality's content, specifically on Twitter, has evoked anger. This bounces his name right back to the top of the trending list due to the engagement, regardless of being a positive or negative response to his posts.

"Twitter could definitely be doing more [to censor]; however, since Elon Musk took over, it does feel as though this is where the radically incorrect views are most prominent. Other platforms have done the right thing by banning his accounts to somewhat restrict his reach," Jamie said.

While banning posts involving Tate from social media may serve a temporary purpose, Jamie believes "it’s ambitious to believe that these wouldn’t just be taken to other channels."

He added: "The risk with this is that there wouldn’t be a representative community to debate the issues raised and may promote even more extreme views."

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