Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere: 'He is propelled by a sense of invincibility'
In 2022, Andrew Tate began the year as a fringe internet celebrity, but by August, he had become the most Googled man in the world.
John Maytham interviews Matt Shea, Co-author of 'Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere'.
Listen below.
In 2022, Andrew Tate transformed from a relatively obscure kickboxer and failed reality TV star into a lifestyle icon for countless men and boys, epitomising a troubling new era of misogyny.
He began the year as a fringe internet celebrity, but by August, he had become the most Googled man in the world.
Shea explains that Tate was an early master of manipulating social media algorithms to gain fame.
He and his team realised that if they posted controversial content, it would attract attention from both those outraged by his statements and those who agreed with them.
According to Shea, this strategy became the perfect formula for success.
"When I found out that my friend's younger brother was watching this guy on TikTok who had the most misogynistic views you could possibly imagine, I was shocked and thought I had to look into it a bit more."
- Matt Shea, Co-author – 'Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere'
That same month, filmmakers Matt Shea and Jamie Tahsin gained access to his Bucharest compound and the notorious War Room.
Shea recounts that as part of the initiation ritual into the War Room, he was 'beaten up' by a professional MMA fighter in front of Tate.
After gaining inside information, the pair then began producing a documentary that prompted the first public allegations against him for sexual and physical violence.
"Those allegations turned our investigation from a cultural social investigation, into a criminal one, and then things got even stranger and more extreme from there."
- Matt Shea, Co-author – 'Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere'
By year’s end, Tate found himself in a Romanian jail, facing serious charges of human trafficking, rape, and involvement in an organised crime group.
RELATED: Andrew Tate arrested in Romania again for alleged human trafficking of minors & more
Yet, the investigations into his activities continue to unfold.
"He is propelled by this sense of invincibility...He was afforded this sense of invincibility by social media companies."
- Matt Shea, Co-author – 'Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere'
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