Andrew Tate Banned From Instagram, Facebook And All Of Meta, Leading To Discourse, Reactions And Memes

Content creator, podcaster and influencer Andrew Tate has been banned from Instagram, Facebook and all of Meta's social media sites for violating community guidelines based on its "dangerous organizations and individuals" policy, inspiring widespread memes and discourse online.

Meta's ban on Tate comes months after Twitter had already banned him three times from different accounts, based on his own tweets stating women should "bear the responsibility" for rape.

Controversial claims like the aforementioned one added to a long history of problematic hot takes from the former kickboxer, all of which gained him infamy online, becoming the most Google-searched person in mid-2022, surpassing both Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian combined.

Last month, former kickboxer turned entrepreneur Andrew Tate was Google searched more times than Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian combined. pic.twitter.com/1oMAAxLzD2

— WTF Facts (@mrwtffacts) August 10, 2022

After Meta confirmed Tate's ban today, they didn't specifically cite what the last straw was. This led to speculation, ultimately circling back to many TikTok and Instagram videos that were uploaded by school teachers in the weeks leading up to the ban.

In these videos, school teachers relayed the influence that Tate purportedly had over their male students, evident in alleged sexist and misogynistic statements that some boys had uttered during the first two weeks of the 2022 school year.

For instance, on August 13th, TikToker and sixth-grade teacher @risawith1s relayed to her followers that 11-year-old boys in her class consistently told her that they love Andrew Tate. They'd also purportedly tell girls in the classroom that they're fat or eat too much, while men work for their money. She felt no need to explain why this was a damaging belief for young boys.

@risawith1s Honestly shocked at how this pile of trash is affecting the minds of young and impressionable boys. It’s gross. #feminism #sentientpeanut #fyp ♬ original sound – Risa

Her video was reposted on Twitter and other websites following her upload, spreading the conversation further. She wasn't alone either. On Wednesday, a since-deleted Redditor posted to /r/teachers about her male freshman students, earning over 9,400 upvotes in less than 48 hours.

Also this month, thousands of TikTokers campaigned to ban Tate from their platform, calling him a "‘rape culture’ influencer."

All of this heat and buzz surrounding the hyper-masculine figure most likely led to Meta's decision, purportedly trying to get ahead of the curve on curbing his controversial rhetoric.

As the news hit Twitter this morning, the discourse, memes and reactions were palpable with users both agreeing and disagreeing with Meta's decision. The debate regarding unchecked free speech on mass, public and online forums, such as Twitter, is the real question on the chopping block. While some believe that Tate's brand of commentary is equal to everyone else's, others disagree on the basis that his commentary is more detrimental and false than other narratives affecting public ideology.

“but what about freedom of speech?” andrew tate has freedom of speech. he can say whatever he wants. but freedom of speech is not freedom of instagram. instagram is a company, not a constitutional right.

— matt (@mattxiv) August 19, 2022

So Andrew Tate was banned from Instagram and Facebook. You don’t have to like him to realize that censoring everyone who speaks against popular opinion can backfire real quick.

— Alchemical Daddy (@AlchemicalDaddy) August 19, 2022

‘Banning Andrew Tate is an attack on freedom of speech’

He is literally being investigated for human trafficking

— Billy (@_billyreid) August 19, 2022

cartoon network when children start watching andrew tate compilations instead of teen titans go reruns and total dramarama: pic.twitter.com/72QJcznuGt

— marq 🧞‍♀️🇯🇲 (@sugarsmorecake) August 18, 2022

i dislike tate but kids are gonna grow up thinking their only weapon against stupid ideas is deplatforming. pic.twitter.com/mDER0MlCKk

— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) August 19, 2022

When Andrew Tate speaks, I sit my white ass down and listen pic.twitter.com/bQErycvQ1Y

— Pericles 'Perry' Abbasi (@ElectionLegal) August 19, 2022

“andrew tate makes so much sense” pic.twitter.com/H8ESU859UR

— juju 💰 (@ayeejuju) August 19, 2022

As a Top g fan, and a graduate of hustlers university’s. It’s sad to see that this soft generation forgot about freedom of speech. Andrew tates name will continue to live on for generations. We will not let his name fade!

— Glory to the CCP 🫡 (@yrxl12) August 19, 2022

In the aftermath, both the humorous memes and the serious discourse appeared to weigh equally on social media timelines. Ultimately, this equal amount of humor and seriousness alluded to two things. One, that there are serious undertones to Tate's influence on the young male perceptions of the world, and two, that others don't take Andrew Tate and his followers too seriously.