One in 5 young people in the UK have a positive view of Andrew Tate, percentages higher among minorities

ISD’s Head of Communications and Editorial, Tim Squirrell, features in VICE News, commenting on the results of a recent survey that found that one in five young people in the UK has a positive view of controversial influencer Andrew Tate. Of the 1,214 people surveyed from ages 16 through 25, ethnic minorities were more likely to view him positively versus white young people: 41 percent of Black respondents, 31 percent of Asian respondents, 15 percent of white respondents. The survey also revealed that these percentages were higher among males (32%) than females (9%), and higher among heterosexual young people (nearly 25%, according to VICE) versus LBGTQ individuals (5%).

“The fact that most people who’ve heard of Tate find his views problematic is encouraging,” Tim told VICE, noting that it was “unsurprising” that young women and LGBTQ individuals overwhelmingly viewed Tate as a negative figure.

“He has repeatedly expressed queerphobic and misogynistic sentiments. The comparatively positive view of his ‘entrepreneurship’ is understandable given that he has been marketing himself more recently as a successful business guru, claiming that young people should seek to emulate him to become rich and successful themselves,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be fooled; his entire philosophy is grounded in bigotry and exploitation of others. The entrepreneurship advice is very much a gateway into substantially darker material produced by many actors within the broader manosphere.”

Andrew Tate is ‘currently under house arrest in Romania over accusations of sex trafficking’, as reported by VICE.