Google has been running adverts for a “get rich quick” scheme run by the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, new research suggests.
The former Big Brother contestant, who is being held in Romania over rape and human trafficking allegations, which he denies, was prominently named on promotions for “The Real World”.
It appears to be a rebranding of his “Hustler’s University”, a controversial community that paid members for sharing Tate‘s content on their own social media accounts.
The 36-year-old’s rise to notoriety on platforms like TikTok was driven by offensive comments, including referring to women as “property” and suggesting rape victims “bear some responsibility” for being attacked.
According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a network of 17 Tate-affiliated sites was running ads on Google for the new scheme, which claims to offer money-making courses and chat rooms to 200,000 members.
It charges members around £40 a month.
Google is understood to have taken action against the adverts since they were brought to its attention.
Ads promise ‘lessons from millionaires’
Searching for “Andrew Tate, The Real World” on Google brought up ads for different sites promoting the scheme, including one which urges people to “stop being a brokie” and “join now”.
“You will receive valuable lessons from hand-picked millionaires,” it says, referring to Tate as a “world champion kickboxer and multi-millionaire”.
Another reads: “Founded by Andrew Tate we become stronger as traditional schooling becomes less important.”
Both had appeared at the top of the results when Sky News carried out the search earlier this week.
Google’s support page states it verifies the identity of all advertisers on its platforms – and blocked more than three billion ads for violating its policies in 2021, suspending millions of accounts.
An example of the advertisements running for Andrew Tate’s scheme on Google
‘Google must remove these ads’
CCDH researchers used analytics tool Semrush to uncover the adverts, which have been viewed an estimated 2.3 million times since last October.
Google has accepted around $50,000 (£41,000) to run the promotions, they claimed.
The charity said they were visible when not signed in to a Google account, so they could be seen by children. The scheme itself is open to those under 18, according to one of the websites promoting it.
Young boys are feared to be especially susceptible to Tate’s views and business practices, with “The Real World” claiming that those who sign up could eventually earn north of $10,000 (£8,300) a month.
Imran Ahmed, chief executive of CCDH, said any profit that Google made from such ads was “shameful”.
“Google must immediately remove these ads and prevent similar content from being advertised in the future,” he added.
Read more:
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It comes after Elon Musk‘s Twitter platform was accused of reinstating controversial banned accounts, including Tate’s, to make more advertising money.
Research by the CCDH found that tweets from neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists, among others, were appearing alongside promotions from major brands like Apple and Amazon.
A CCDH analysis has estimated that ads appearing next to such controversial content could help generate $19m (£15.8m) in revenue for Twitter per year.
