UK riots: Andrew Tate claims it's 'dangerous to be white' and compares Palestinians to racist mobs
The trigger for the ongoing wave of racist and Islamophobic mob attacks that are happening across the UK was online misinformation, which went viral following a stabbing attack that killed three children in Southport last Monday.
False claims spread rapidly online that the attacker was a Muslim and illegal immigrant.
High-profile users on X, formerly Twitter, were involved in spreading fake news to millions of people, including anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson and former GB News presenter Laurence Fox.
But one major source of the misinformation, which triggered anti-Muslim violence, was a Muslim himself.
A British-American kickboxer turned influencer, who says he has made millions of dollars from webcam services, Andrew Tate publicly converted to Islam in late 2022.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Once the world’s most Googled man, he has described himself as a misogynist and has drawn criticism for making demeaning remarks about women.
Tate, who is currently in Romania, is awaiting trial on human trafficking and rape charges, which he denies.
He has met Tommy Robinson “untold times”, having once referred to the far-right activist and former English Defence League leader as a “solid guy” with a “good heart”.
In a 2022 interview, Tate claimed that Robinson was “doing his very best to protect England from Islamisation”.
Since becoming a Muslim in October 2022, Tate, who is mixed-race, has continued to express anti-immigrant views.
He is an avowed supporter of right-wing politician Nigel Farage, who has also been accused of stirring trouble after the Southport stabbings and has previously made a series of comments accused of being Islamophobic.
“The Russians can come and take England,” Tate said in late July. “All the immigrants are taking it over anyway.
“I’d rather Russians take it over than a bunch of fucking Bangladeshis.”
He then proceeded to use a racial slur commonly directed at South Asians in the UK.
‘This is The Matrix’
Hours after the Southport attack on Monday, Tate posted a video of himself on X in a car claiming falsely that the attacker was an illegal migrant. Within two days, the video had received 15 million views.
The post has since had its visibility limited by X’s moderators.
Later that same day, Tate said in a separate post that the attacker “arrived on a boat one month ago”.
Absolute zero protests in the UK after today.
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) July 29, 2024
An illegal migrant arrived on a boat one month ago.
Then he decided to stab children.
TWO CHILDREN DEAD.
NINE CHILDREN STABBED, SIX NOW IN A CRITICAL CONDITION.
TWO ADULTS ALSO IN A CRITICAL CONDITION.
These children were… https://t.co/HBKIDRk7zi
BBC News reported last Tuesday that the 17-year-old suspect was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and had moved to the Southport area in 2013.
After that, Tate doubled down on his inaccurate claim.
“This is The Matrix trying to stop you from understanding the truth about the illegal migrants they allow in,” he declared on X, hours before a mob attack on a mosque in Southport, in a post that received over 4.5m views.
“Putting them in free hotels in Cardiff after they invite the country, doesn’t mean they’re FROM Cardiff.”
The suspect was in fact born in Cardiff, as was later established.
“The Matrix” is regularly mentioned in Tate’s online content, meaning establishment forces trying to present a different version of reality to the one that exists.
Tate also posted a false image of the supposed attacker, saying he was “straight off a boat”.
By Thursday, far-right violence had wracked parts of Britain for two nights in a row, with an Asian man assaulted by a mob and scores of policemen attacked on Wednesday.
The next day, Tate posted an image of an Asian-looking man holding money and a large knife in a rubber dinghy, with the caption: “Typical man from Cardiff.”
That same day, Tate replied to a post showing Prime Minister Keir Starmer telling the Muslim community that he would “take every step” to keep them safe.
“It’s dangerous to be white,” Tate said in response.
He also claimed that the “British government hates white people so much they only punish rioters when they’re white.”
“White people - your nations are occupied.”
Comparing the far right to Palestinians
Tate drew further criticism on X when he responded to a video of Tommy Robinson by saying: “As a Muslim, Tommy Robinson is correct in a lot he says here.”
Tate appeared to compare far-right mobs to Palestinians in Gaza, arguing that “the British are angry for the same reason the Gazans are angry.
“Oppressed men who face losing their lands will fight back.”
By the weekend, Tate was facing considerable criticism from Muslims online and began posting messages calling for peace and asking Muslims to show solidarity with “natives”.
“It disgusts me seeing Gaza being conquered by Israel,” he said on Sunday in a debate with Muslim influencer Mohammed Hijab. “So I understand how the native English man feels.
"As Muslims do we not understand his point of view? Can we not show compassion and kindness and understanding?" he asked.
"We should be standing in solidarity with the natives and helping them point their anger in the right direction, a government which has forgotten them."
When asked to condemn far-right mob violence, Tate instead denounced violence “from BOTH sides”.
In recent days, groups of Muslims have gathered to defend mosques and other places of worship from the far-right rioters.
On Monday, hundreds of Muslims gathered near a mosque in Birmingham following false rumours online of a far-right gathering there.
Some of those Muslims, who broke off from the main crowd, were filmed attacking a nearby pub named the Clumsy Swan. Later that evening, other Muslims visited the pub to apologise to the staff.
On Sunday, Tate said that any Muslim “upset I am AGAINST unchecked immigration is an idiot”.
“As a Muslim” is trending because Andrew Tate opened up a tweet with those words to justify anti-Muslim pogroms in Britain, comparing the pogromists to Palestinians in Gaza fighting for their land. Shame on everyone who enabled him, platformed him, or gave him any legitimacy.
— Asad أسد 🗽🍎 (@AsadFromNYC) August 4, 2024
“Does Dubai allow unchecked immigration? Or is it some of the strictest in the world?”
Many Muslims online have been criticising Tate - but not because he is against “unchecked immigration”.
On Monday, in a change of tone, Tate posted that he was “getting serious racist insults for being brown from white people in the UK” for the first time in his life.
And on Tuesday, he asked his followers: “Can we go back to making racist jokes without everyone crying?”
Meanwhile, across Britain police fear more disorder, with far-right organisers reportedly planning to launch attacks on scores of immigration centres and legal firms on Wednesday night.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
