Greta Thunberg suggests Twitter spat inadvertently led to Andrew Tate’s arrest
A theory on social media suggests Tate’s location was disclosed by pizza boxes visible in a video he posted addressing her.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Climate activist Greta Thunberg has said that Andrew Tate’s Twitter spat with her inadvertently led to his arrest in Romania.
Following news that the former kickboxer had been detained on suspicion of human trafficking and rape, the climate campaigner said in a post on Friday: “this is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes”.
Ms Thunberg was referring to a theory being shared on social media that Tate’s location was revealed to police by pizza boxes visible in a video he posted addressing her.
In the footage, Tate, 36, tells a person behind the camera: “Please bring me pizza and make sure that these boxes are not recycled,” before being handed packaging with Romanian text on it.
The 19-year-old activist had earlier responded after he tagged her in a tweet about his cars’ “enormous emissions”.
She tweeted: “please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com”.
The theory has spawned the trending hashtag #PizzaTate, although others pointed out that Tate had been posting about his location in Romania before the row.
The former kickboxer and his brother Tristan have been under investigation since April alongside two Romanian nationals.
His home in the capital, Bucharest, has now reportedly been raided, with a lawyer for the brothers confirming their detention.
“The four suspects … appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost,” Romanian prosecutors said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Footage circulated widely on social media appears to show Tate and his brother being led away from a luxury villa.
He moved to Romania five years ago.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism previously issued a statement, but did not name the Tate brothers, saying that two British citizens and two Romanian citizens were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking.
It also released a video of the raid, showing guns, knives, and money on display in one room.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments