Andrew Tate is a social media influencer who makes money by exploiting the insecurities of men, chiefly around their sexuality and wealth, through courses and pyramid schemes. He self-describes as a misogynist ("I am realistic and when you are realistic, you are sexist. It’s impossible to be realistic and not be sexist.") and views women as property.
Tate has over 3.5M followers on Twitter (he has been banned on other social networks) and chances are, you know some of them. That puts you in a unique position to help them reconsider their own views on women and deplatform Tate. Here's how:
Twitter allows you to not only see who follows Tate but who you're connected with that follows him. You can find yours here.
This is important, because these are people that you have some influence over. You can use your personal connection to them to change their behaviors and beliefs, just as Tate does.
It can be hard to talk to people about their beliefs and it takes courage, because it puts pressure on your relationship and risks the connection. But that risk is worth it: connecting with people you know in an honest and respectful way is one of our most powerful tools for change.
Here's a template you can use to open a conversation with someone who is following Tate:
I noticed you're following Andrew Tate (@cobratate). He has said "I am realistic and when you are realistic, you are sexist. It’s impossible to be realistic and not be sexist." Is that something you believe?
Hopefully, your connection responds. If they don't, you might consider unfollowing them...or not. It is up to you whether staying connected gives you other chances to change their minds or whether the relationship isn't worth it to you; that's a personal choice.
If they do respond, here are some potential ways to engage:
I only follow him so I can counter what he says.
I'm so glad to hear that; I was worried that maybe you agreed with his beliefs and so I wanted to check in. One thought: Tate gets a lot of power from having so many followers. I can understand wanting to counter him but is it worth boosting his follower count for?
He has a lot of valuable content on how to make money online.
I understand that making money can feel really important. But there are so many great, legitimate sources of business advice online; is it worth giving him a platform to degrade women? Our relationship is important to me; would you consider unfollowing him?
I bought one of his courses and want to learn from him.
That sounds like it was really important to you. Can we talk about the course you bought and I can help you find some alternative resources that are free, so you're not supporting someone who is degrading women?
I agree with a lot of what he says; women are inferior.
When you say women are inferior, I feel really sad and angry, because I believe women are an incredibly important part of our world and deserve respect, so what I’d really like is to have a longer conversation about why you feel that way. What you believe is important, both to me and in general, and I want to talk.