Jake Paul wants social media companies to backtrack on their decisions to ban controversial kick-boxing world champion Andrew Tate, despite the pair's fighting feud.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer used his platform of millions of followers to help share a message on Tate's behalf after he was removed from all major social media networks in an effort to deplatform him over unspecified terms of service violations. Twitter were the first to get rid of Tate long before his massive burst to fame, but were followed last month in a sweeping universal ban.
Tate claims that he was given no warning before Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other outlets banned his accounts, and Tik Tok confirmed that he was not allowed on their website. He has since moved to Rumble and Gettr, which are more fringe sites, after sharing a final mainstream message through the likes of Paul and Twitch streamer Adin Ross.
Speaking with Mirror Fighting during promotion for Amanda Serrano's unified featherweight title defence against Sarah Mahfoud, Paul explained that he is not a fan of the former fighter, but values free speech above all else. He even insisted that he wants to "knock out" Tate, despite helping to amplify his message in the face of big tech censorship.
"I just believe in free speech, man," Paul said of his decision to help Tate. "Even though I would love to knock him out and even though he says crazy things about women, I do believe that everyone has a right to voice what they have to say. I wanted to get his last message out because it's important that people aren't censored.
"People shouldn't be censored, it goes against our first amendment [in the American consitution]. Obviously these are 'private companies that can do whatever they want', but it's just such a big f***ing problem. I hope maybe he just gets a slap on the wrist and they let him come back."
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Paul admits that he doesn't approve of Tate's rhetoric, including his multiple comments about women and their place in the world. He has described himself as a "misogynist" in the past, and was removed from Twitter after claiming that rape victims should "bear some responsibility" for crimes committed against them.
But the issue of censoring social media users for their views when they aren't encroaching on any laws is one that Paul feels passionately about. While companies such as Twitter, Meta and Google masquerade as private businesses with sole discretion over who uses their platforms, they havea stranglehold on communication, and Paul feels should be held to higher standards.
"It does bother me when he says those things about women or whatever," the undefeated boxer added. "But everyone should be able to learn from their mistakes and be able to get a second chance. That's what the whole justice system is about, so hopefully he can find a way to make things right with these platforms and go from there. I don't really know [the solution]."
