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• Sat Apr 19 2025

Influencers fuelling misogyny in schools, teachers say

4 hours ago Share Save George Wright BBC News Share Save

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Social media influencers are fuelling an increase in misogyny and sexism in schools, according to a new poll by a teaching union. Almost three in five teachers said they believe social media use has had a negative effect on behaviour in schools, the NASUWT poll of 5,800 teachers in the UK found. Influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate was named by a number of teachers in the poll. The Department for Education (DfE) said it was supporting the teachers to tackle the "damaging impact" on children caused by "the rise of dangerous influencers".

Union members will debate motions at its annual conference in Liverpool this weekend, including one that suggests far-right and populist movements have shifted their recruitment on to social media, messaging and online gaming platforms. "I have had boys refuse to speak to me and speak to a male teaching assistant instead because I am a woman and they follow Andrew Tate and think he is amazing with all his cars and women... These were 10-year-olds," one teacher said. Another teacher said: "In a secondary English class last year, a group of boys opted, despite discouragement, to write a persuasive essay on why Andrew Tate is the GOAT (greatest of all time) which included praise of his view that women are a man's property... all of the parents were contacted and were appalled." In an interview with the BBC in 2023, when pushed on whether his controversial views on women harmed young people, Tate claimed he was a "force for good". Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said "there is an urgent need for concerted action involving schools, colleges and other agencies to safeguard all children and young people from the dangerous influence of far-right populists and extremists". "Teachers cannot be left alone to deal with these problems," he added.

Getty Images Andrew Tate was named by a number of teachers in the poll