ISD’s Sid Venkataramakrishnan joined TalkTV to discuss the arrest of influencer Andrew Tate and the manosphere writ large. During the interview, Sid explained how Tate became one of the most recognisable figures in the movement.

“He positions himself as representing a current of true masculinity, which is violent both towards women and towards other men,” he said.

Asked why Tate resonates with so many, Sid described how young men are first drawn in by motivational ideas before getting “sucked into the broader claims that he [Tate] makes: the world is against you, that, as a man, you have no value unless you make it, whereas women are given it through their sexuality or their beauty, or however he frames it, and you have to fight for everything you own.”

Sid also explained the dangers of Tate’s claim that the recent charges against him are “lawfare” and that he is a political prisoner.

“I suspect a number of their followers will believe that, regardless of the outcome of the case — whether they are extradited or charged in the end — they will believe this is just politics against them, and that they were never actually guilty in the first place.”

Watch the full interview on ISD’s YouTube.