Reflecting on the Historic Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg Saga

The world wide web, often regarded as the pinnacle of human connection, has revolutionized how people across the globe communicate. The ability to send anyone in the world a message with the tap of your finger has been utilized for both good and bad, and the Internet has evolved to reflect modern culture, particularly among the youth. With that said, I think no internet event really captures this sense of moral dismay other than Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg’s intense internet feud that culminated in Tate’s arrest.

The feud began on December 27nd, 2022 when Tate tweeted the following, taunting Thunberg:

“Hello

@GretaThunberg

I have 33 cars.

My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad turbo.

…

Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions.”

Tate, a former kickboxer and known misogynist, had built a polarizing community around his name due to his controversial statements; regardless, Tate had been evading Romanian police for human trafficking charges and various other charges regarding sexual assault.

Thunberg responded, and her response took the internet by storm. Tate, insulted by Thunberg’s tweet, responded with a video showing him throwing away a reusable pizza box - coincidentally, and quite poetically, Romanian police tracked the restaurant the box came from and were able to detain Tate.

In Chayko’s Superconnected, he talks about how the internet works in tandem with humanity to an intimate, techno-social connection in which one, “constantly influences [the other]” (Chayko, 9). I think the Tate and Thunberg saga perfectly encapsulates this in many obvious ways - the political divides between the two, a real world problem, was propagated through the internet and then had real-world consequences. Had Twitter not existed, this argument would likely have not occurred. This feud further alienated Tate from the general population and placed Thunberg in the favor of many who had not known her name prior. With each quote, the intensity of the feud grew, and I find it extremely interesting, if not poetic, how Tate was only caught due to his own actions.

I think this event is a great example of how a digital audience can be easily persuaded as well; many who knew little of Tate or Thunberg saw the online argument and, upon hearing of Tate’s arrest, immediately saw Thunberg’s responses as funny, when in reality her initial response was crude and even a bit childish. In turn, many band wagoned on the “Tate Hate Train,” and blindly harassed many of Tate’s contacts who had nothing to do with the situation.

Although Tate was arrested, I believe there is an inherent danger when large personalities publicly conflict, as it can be unintentionally polarizing. Tate and Thunberg’s feud is a perfect example of how interconnected techno and social cultures have become, and the real world consequences that can follow.

Citations

Chayko, M. (2021). Superconnected: The internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life. Sage.

Olson, E. (2022, December 30). Who is Andrew Tate? your guide to the self-styled misogynist influencer. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/30/1146257976/andrew-tate-greta-thunberg-romania-arrest-trafficking

Tate, A. (2022, December 27). Tate’s Tweet from December 27nd, 2022. Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Cobratate/status/1607677190254235648

YouTube. (2022). Andrew Tate Responds to Greta Thunberg. YouTube. Retrieved January 23, 2024, from