A senior police chief has warned that Andrew Tate’s influence on young men is “plain to see”, as he raised alarm over the growing reach of harmful online figures.
Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said the controversial influencer had become “ubiquitous” among young boys.
Tate and his brother, Tristan, are facing charges of sex trafficking and forming an organised criminal group to sexually exploit women.
During a meeting outlining the NPCC’s work on tackling violence against women and girls on Friday, Mr Stephens said: “(Tate) has become ubiquitous.
“Whether you talk to educators or others, the harmful effect of Tate is plain to see.”
The self-described misogynist has amassed millions of followers in recent years, often with expletive-laden rants about women.
Mr Stephens branded the content “lawful but awful” and urged tech bosses to clamp down on it.The senior officer also warned of the growing scale of tech-enabled abuse, with police now dealing with more than a million crimes related to violence against women and girls each year – a fifth of all recorded crime.
“In 2022/23, the most common age of victims of tech-enabled violence was 10 to 15 years old,” he added.
“Young men are being influenced, drawn into this horrible material.
“It can’t be right that this is allowed to continue and exist on these platforms.
“It’s really concerning and worrying, the scale of the threat.
“The algorithms have been engineered in so they can be engineered out.”
Mr Stephens praised the recent BBC drama Adolescence for helping to spark conversation around online harm but questioned whether tech companies are doing enough.
“I was thinking for episode five, what’s going on behind the scenes at the tech companies – are they taking it seriously?” he said.
