UPDATE: |Who is Andrew Tate? The social media influencer ‘fuelling misogyny in schools’ News

Teachers in the UK have suggested that influencers like Andrew Tate are fuelling an increase in misogyny and sexism in schools

Online influencers such as Andrew Tate are fuelling an increase in sexism and misogyny in the classroom, a new survey suggests.

Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist social media influencer, was referenced by a number of teachers who took part in a survey, who claimed he had negative influence on male pupils.

The survey of nearly 6,000 teachers found that almost three in five (59 per cent) agreed that social media use has contributed to a deterioration in pupils’ behaviour in schools.

The findings of the survey have been published during the NASUWT teaching union’s annual conference in Liverpool this weekend. One motion that is set to be debated at the conference suggests far-right and populist movements have shifted their recruitment on to social media, messaging and online gaming platforms.

The motion calls on the union’s executive to work with teachers “to assess the risk that far-right and populist movements pose to young people”. It adds that the union should work with the Government “to support teachers in challenging far-right and populist narratives” presented to young people.

Andrew Tate was referenced by a number of teachers who took part in the survey, who said he had a negative influence on male pupils.

One teacher said “the Andrew Tate phenomena had a huge impact on how [pupils at an all-boys school] interacted with females and males they did not see as ‘masculine'”.

Another teacher added: “I have had boys refuse to speak to me and speak to a male teaching assistant instead because I am a woman and they follow Andrew Tate and think he is amazing with all his cars and women and how women should be treated. These were 10-year-olds.”

The findings come just weeks after Netflix’s hit show Adolescence brought Andrew Tate back into conversation with its four-part series that shed light on the toxic “manosphere” and its influence on young people on social media.

The drama, which delves into the so-called incel culture blamed for online misogyny, gives viewers a real-time insight into the devastating impact of the “manosphere” that distorts the minds of vulnerable young men. Incel, meaning “involuntary celibate”, refers to a subset of the online misogynist community, known as the “manosphere”.

The manosphere and Andrew Tate are even referenced in the script, but co-creator and screenwriter Jack Thorne says the lead character – 13-year-old Jamie, played by Owen Cooper – has been “indoctrinated by voices a lot more dangerous than Tate’s,” he told Radio 4’s Front Row.

Why is Andrew Tate so controversial?

Andrew Tate is known as one of the prominent faces of the manosphere. Andrew Tate gained notoriety after he was removed from TV show Big Brother in 2016 over a video that appeared to show him attacking a woman with a belt – which he claims was edited.

In 2022, the controversial influencer was arrested in Romania alongside his brother Tristan on suspicion of human trafficking and rape. The pair also have criminal charges out against them in the UK and the US. They both deny wrongdoing.

The 38-year-old former kickboxer has more than 10 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter. Tate has been the subject of several social media bans over the years, including on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, but he has since been reinstated on X.

On TikTok, videos with the #AndrewTate hashtag have been viewed billions of times. The influencer is a self-proclaimed misogynist. In an interview with another YouTuber, Tate said he was “absolutely a misogynist”, according to the BBC, and added: “I’m a realist and when you’re a realist, you’re sexist. There’s no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist.”

Tate claims to be a “self-made multi-millionaire” and said he earned money through “a little webcam business from my apartment”. According to celebritynetworth.com, Tate has a net worth of $12m (£9.4m).