Two Gretas and One Pizza Box? The Takedown of Andrew Tate
Photo Credit: Maria Teneva (Unsplash)
How many Gretas does it take to bring down a notorious online misogynist and alleged human trafficker? Just two. While this week's turn of events in Romania has certainly been an amusing and satisfying end to the year on social media, what can we do about the growing acceptance of violence against women online? How can we end misogyny on social media?
The great Greta and GRETA.
Somewhere in a Romanian jail, Andrew Tate is likely regretting his decision to tweet Greta Thunberg. If you are not familiar with him, Andrew is a 36-year-old former kickboxer who turned into a social media menace. He was removed from several online platforms this summer because of his open embrace of misogyny, which was undoubtedly influencing his millions of followers, who are mostly young men. For example, in an interview this past summer, this is how he described women: “I’m not saying they’re property; I am saying they are given to the man and belong to the man.” Andrew's misguided attempt to bait Greta into an online argument about fossil fuels ultimately resulted in his arrest on Thursday. Initial rumors indicated that Romanian police learned of Andrew's whereabouts because a video he posted (in response to Greta's now-famous tweet comeback) featured a pizza box from a local chain. In actuality, they had been building a case for months to detain Andrew and his brother (both men are British and American) on suspicions of human trafficking and organized crime. In a plot twist worthy of Shakespeare, Romanian authorities were advised in 2021 to ensure that human traffickers face "proportionate and dissuasive sanctions" by the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, better known simply as GRETA.
Online abusers take comfort in anonymity.
Hunched over mobile phones in basements around the globe, some of Andrew's minions came to his defense by posting hateful and violent messages about Greta, who is just 19 years old. In 2020, Wired reported on the online vitriol that Greta (then legally a minor) regularly received from men and noted that women in politics, activism, and other public spheres face similar online abuse. To learn more, Wired spoke to Mona Lena Krook, a professor of Political Science at Rutgers University. She said that, when harassing women online, “the first place people go are gender-based slurs or sexualizing tactics.” She added that: “Photoshopped sexual images are really common. When you sexually objectify somebody, your perception of their competence and humanity changes. It’s about delegitimizing them to a broader audience.” Research published in 2015 revealed "egregiously sexist behavior is fostered by the 'online disinhibition effect.'" This means that some social media users may feel emboldened by their anonymity online and physical distance from the people they are attacking. They feel empowered to behave in an uncivilized manner that may be uncharacteristic of the behaviors they exhibit in real-life interactions.
You are not alone.
Women in prominent positions are not the only ones to face unwarranted hostile messages online. The Pew Research Center said that "more than 40% of Americans have experienced online abuse, and more than 60% have witnessed it. People of color and LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately targeted, and women are twice as likely as men to experience sexual harassment online." Of those surveyed, Pew found that 43% of American adults believe "law enforcement does not take incidents of online harassment seriously enough."
Without judgment, ask young people in your life, particularly boys and young men, what they are watching and following on social media. A group of educators was deeply concerned about their students following Andrew Tate. They created an easy-to-follow guide on Instagram, with steps and specific examples, to help teachers and parents address online misogyny and abuse with young people. Tips include opening the conversation with the intent to guide and inform, digging deeper and learning more about why the young person is interested in this type of content and explaining why the content is misogynistic and violent.
If you are being harassed online, there are some steps you can take against your abuser. The Harvard Business Review compiled a short list of actions you can take if you are being abused online, including documenting the encounters, enlisting support from friends or colleagues, and learning what behaviors violate platforms' terms of service.
This issue of The Friday Brief was updated to include a link to an article where Romanian authorities confirmed that the pizza box did not play a role in Andrew Tate’s arrest.