YouTube profits from Andrew Tate content despite banning him from platform
YouTube still profits from Andrew Tate, despite banning him from their platform, new research has revealed.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate has found that videos of the self-described misogynist are still amassing millions of views on YouTube, where they feature profit-generating adverts and are easily accessible to viewers as young as 13 years old.
Tate, who currently faces multiple charges for rape and human trafficking in the UK, continues to be propelled by guest appearances on podcasts and fan-made videos on the platform despite being banned since 2022.
The organisation identified that 100 of the most-viewed YouTube videos of the manosphere influencer, which promoted misogyny and were posted over the last year, racked up a total of nearly 54 million views. Two-thirds of these videos were made by Andrew Tate 'fan accounts'.
Over half of these videos violated YouTube's policies on hate speech, and nearly a third violated YouTube's policies while carrying adverts from big brands, the research said.
All of these videos were accessible to viewers aged 13 and over in the UK and US, while 98 of them were viewable to those of the same age group in Ireland and Germany. These clips were made widely accessible as YouTube had auto-translated captions into multiple languages for 97 of them.
Researchers found both in-stream and in-feed adverts from big brands such as Hyundai and Olay served next to or on videos, which featured Tate promoting misogynistic claims and breaching the video-sharing platform's hate speech guidelines. This is despite YouTube's policy that channels seeking monetisation follow platform Community Guidelines, including policies on hate speech.
In one video, where Tate said of women 'You want her to submit - become someone she wants to follow. You want her loyalty - build a life she doesn't want to lose', an advert from Lavazza featured in-feed, as a thumbnail next to video content.
While in-stream adverts play before, during or after videos and can be skipped, in-feed video adverts appear as thumbnails next to video content. There is no suggestion brands agreed to have their advertisements displayed next to content featuring Tate.
YouTube originally banned Tate from the platform after his content was found in violation of its policies. Researchers found that 58 of the videos surveyed clearly violated the hate speech policy, which stipulates that they won't allow 'content that promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on [...] attributes' such as sex or gender, including slurs and stereotypes. While the remaining videos didn't violate the guidelines, they did all include overt misogyny, the organisation said.
Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, warned that YouTube had created a system that profits off Tate's 'dangerous persona while benefitting from the illusion that his content is banned' despite recognising that the controversial figure consistently violates their own rules.
'The platform does not appear to be taking action to address this predictable tactic for keeping Tate's misogynistic messaging in the limelight and in the feeds of 13-year-old kids. Instead, YouTube is reportedly rolling back content moderation policies, making the platform even less safe for its users.'
He called on UK and EU regulators to intervene and hold tech giants accountable as they 'knowingly profit from the spread of hate and harm.'
A YouTube spokesperson told The Independent: 'Andrew Tate's channels were terminated in 2022. Since then, we've removed hundreds of thousands of videos and terminated thousands of channels that have attempted to circumvent that original decision.
'But as with all terminated users, not all content that features Andrew Tate will be removed. Only 11 videos from the CCDH report were shared with us to review - the majority have been removed for violating our Terms of Service, and we've terminated a number of the featured channels.'
Andrew and his brother Tristan have denied a total of 21 charges of rape and human trafficking between them authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service.
A European arrest warrant was issued for the brothers in 2024, but ongoing criminal matters in Romania have taken priority.
The pair are due to be extradited to the UK following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania.
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