BUCHAREST, ROMANIA: Teachers and parents are raising concerns about social media influencer Andrew Tate and his 'damaging' content, which has reportedly become prevalent in some school playgrounds in New Zealand. Tate, the self-proclaimed “king of toxic masculinity” has millions of followers on social media, most of whom are young boys. He has been widely criticized for the 'damaging' and 'misogynistic' content he posts on social media.
New Zealand's Ministry of Education has been working with experts to gather information on Tate, who is being investigated for human trafficking and rape in Romania, and to create awareness about his messages. Parents and teachers have urgently requested action to be taken before "more students get indoctrinated" with Tate's 'damaging' content.
Tate’s ideology is creating 'generation of radicals'
In recent emails that have come to light, concerns have been raised about the potential harm being caused to children due to the rising influence of hateful ideologies. While the sender of one of the emails has chosen to remain anonymous, they have implored New Zealand's Ministry of Education to take their responsibility seriously and act quickly to prevent further harm, as reported by NZHerald. Many schools have been awaiting official action from the ministry, but it appears that this issue cannot wait any longer.
Another email purportedly sent by a distressed parent discusses the alarming prevalence of "Nazi salutes" in schools. In addition, some children are apparently using usernames related to Hitler or racist phrases and following hate speech spreaders such as Tate. The writer of this email fears that this has the potential of creating a "generation of radicals" that can harm society.
'Misinformation, disinformation, and misogyny'
Julia Novak, the Ministry of Education's curriculum general manager, acknowledges that this issue has been raised around the country and is being taken seriously. The curriculum service, which operates out of the Ministry of Education regional offices, is said to have a dedicated relationships and sexuality education sub-committee. “The influence of Andrew Tate has been discussed in the context of misinformation, disinformation, and misogyny,” Novac commented on the topic of Tate's influence on the children of New Zealand.
While the influence of Tate has been recognized as a factor in the dissemination of misinformation, disinformation, and misogyny, the ministry is not aware of any acute concerns raised about children in the classroom demonstrating behavior that links directly to his ideology or views. Naturally, schools have a crucial role in responding to all forms of harassment, violence, and misinformation, but this problem requires a community-wide response. Hence, any harm caused by hate speech and related behavior cannot be understated.
