Andrew Tate banned from Facebook and Instagram for violating hate speech policies

Andrew Tate pictured here in this undated photo. (TateSpeech/YouTube)

Former kickboxer and reality star Andrew Tate has been banned from Facebook and Instagram after violating the platforms’ policies on hate speech, the social media networks' parent company said.

A spokesperson for Meta told CTVNews.ca in an email that Tate had his accounts removed for violating their policies on "dangerous organizations and individuals" and "hate speech."

Tate has faced scrutiny online for his podcast on YouTube and TikTok that has been called "misogynistic." His viewers are often young males, a growing concern for many women’s rights organizations.

"More and more we’re seeing young men and boys being influenced by Andrew Tate hateful misogynistic men like Andrew Tate," SafeLives, a U.K.-based charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, said on Twitter.

Hope not hate, a U.K. non-profit organization, started a petition to remove Tate’s content from TikTok, which is mainly from fans re-uploading clips of his podcast to the app. According to the petition, his content has been viewed more than 12 billion times on TikTok.

Tate rose to fame in 2016 after starring in the U.K. reality show Big Brother for nearly a week, before he was removed from the series.

The social media star garnered 4.7 million followers on Instagram before being banned and also had his Twitter account suspended. However, his YouTube channel and several TikTok accounts supporting his content are still online.

In a Twitter thread posted on Tuesday, the Women's March organization said Tate's words have contributed to the "dangers" women face daily against sexism and misogyny.

"The fact that men like Andrew Tate are allowed to freely spread misogynistic, anti-woman views is nothing new," the tweet said.