YouTube rakes in millions in ad revenue from videos of misogynist, Andrew Tate

YouTube is making up to £3.4 million in ad revenue from channels that are dedicated to posting videos of misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, including videos in which he promotes violence against women.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate identified 47 videos of Andrew Tate promoting extreme misogyny, of which nine were identified as carrying paid advertisements from brands that include Schwarzkopf hair products, Vans shoes, and even Google Ad services. Ads were recorded on clips in which Tate:

• Labels a former partner who accused him of assault “a dumb hoe”, viewed 12.8m times
• Talks about fighting women, saying “grip her up by the neck”, viewed 1.6m times
• Describes putting his “imprint” on 18-19 year-old girls, viewed 8.4m times
• Claims “being a man” means “being territorial” of women, viewed 3.3m times

The social analytics tool Social Blade estimates that just three YouTube channels that carry ads and are dedicated to reposting clips of Tate have amassed nearly 234 million views across all of their videos, making up to £3.4 million in annual ad revenue.

Nearly half of the YouTube videos researchers identified promote Tate’s “Hustler’s University”, a private community hosted on the chat app Discord which Tate promises will “teach you exactly how to make money”.

A recent investigation from The Observer revealed that Tate encourages subscribers to his “Hustlers University” scheme to repost clips of him in order to earn commission. According to the report, this strategy has made him millions of pounds in less than three months, with 127,000 members paying £39 a month to participate in the scheme.

One such YouTube channel called “Successful Tate”, which is dedicated to reposting clips of Tate, has a subscriber count of 140,000 with over 83.4 million views across 249 videos. Estimates from Social Blade show the channel could be earning up to £1.7 million annually.  

The former professional kickboxer turned social media influencer who, despite having been in the public eye for several years, has rapidly risen to prominence on social media in the last few months, particularly on video platforms like TikTok.

Calls for Tate to be removed from the platform have been made over fears that the former Big Brother star could be “normalising violence” against women. He has previously labeled women as a “man’s property” and asserted that rape survivors must “bear responsibility” for attacks. 

Imran Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate said:

“Dehumanising, woman-hating content that encourages violence has no place on YouTube, the social media platform most used by children. The mainstream brands who are having their ads placed on this content – including, ironically, Google – will be spitting mad that their brands are being associated with hate and violence.

“A year since the incel terrorist attack in Plymouth, it appears YouTube hasn’t learned a single lesson. But to learn, you have to be listening. They issue countless press releases touting their community standards, and yet when asked to back up their words with action, they fall short every single time.

“This is why we need the Government to just get on with passing their Online Safety Bill and stop the dithering. This content is clearly harmful and it is perverse to continue to allow Big Tech to profit by encouraging violence against women and girls.”