Romanian authorities deny pizza box led to Andrew Tate’s arrest as influencer held for 30 days

Prosecutors say they found six women sexually exploited by suspects

Andrew Tate arrested by Romanian police over human trafficking and rape charges

Romanian authorities say a pizza box did not tip agencies to the whereabouts of misogynist influencer Andrew Tate who has been arrested on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.

Memes and a widely shared screengrab of Tate eating from a pizza box in a Twitter video response to climate activist Greta Thunberg drew speculation that the local pizza place gave away his whereabouts.

But the arrest of the 36-year-old misogynist social media personality and his brother on Thursday followed a months-long investigation, according to authorities.

Tate, a British citizen previously banned from social media platforms for his misogynistic views and hate speech, was arrested along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian suspects, according to officials who raided their properties in Bucharest.

All four suspects, including Tate, will be held for 30 days after a judge extended their initial detention period of 24 hours, said Ramona Bolla, of anti-organised crime agency Diicot. She said the decision was not final and the suspects may appeal.

Prosecutors say they found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.

Key Points

• Andrew Tate detained for 30 more days in Romanian jail in human trafficking and rape inquiry
• Did the Romanian pizza box in response video to Greta Thunberg give away Andrew Tate’s location?
• Andrew Tate used ‘loverboy method’ to lure women into the trafficking ring, authorities say
• Andrew Tate: Who is the controversial social media influencer arrested in Romania?
• Greta Thunberg makes cheeky dig at Andrew Tate over pizza box following arrest

[1 January 2023 09:12 · Stuti Mishra]

ICYMI: Elon Musk taunts Andrew Tate after tweet blaming ‘The Matrix’ for arrest

Elon Musk has taunted influencer Andrew Tate after tweets from his social media account blamed “The Matrix” for his arrest in Romania.

One tweet from Tate’s account seemed to respond to the arrest, saying: “The Matrix sent their agents”. Another said: “The Matrix will only tell you what The Matrix needs you to believe.”

In apparent response to these, Twitter CEO Elon Musk posted a meme.

Holly Bancroft has more:

[1 January 2023 10:00 · Stuti Mishra]

What is Hustler’s University started by Andrew Tate?

Disgraced social media influencer Andrew Tate who has had a significant online presence and boasts his rich lifestyle also provided paid online lessons to people on earning money and being successful.

His venture, known as Hustler’s University offered courses on 18 “wealth creation” skills.

“Hustler’s University is an online money-focused community providing education and coaching to over 100,000 students worldwide. Our Campus is a hub for skill development, and our professors are world-class multimillionaire experts,” says the programme’s bio on its website.

The online programme remained one of his strongholds even when his social profiles were taken down for misogynistic content before being reinstated.

[1 January 2023 11:15 · Stuti Mishra]

Everything you need to know about Andrew Tate

Andrew Tate is no stranger to controversy.

The former kickboxer and social media influencer, who has gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views, was detained in Romania on Thursday 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group, prosecutors said.

Prior to being banned, Tate had a huge Instagram following of 4.6 million.

Some of his most viral videos see him expressing opinions such as “women can’t drive”, that men can cheat but women can’t, and that 18-year-old women are “more attractive than 25-year-olds because they’ve been through less d***”.

But how did he become so big on social media?

Saman Javed, Ellie Muir and Roisin O’Connor have everything you need to know about the disgraced influencer:

[1 January 2023 12:30 · Stuti Mishra]

Elon Musk calls Great Thunberg 'cool' amid Twitter war with Andrew Tate

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has praised Greta Thunberg in one of his recent tweets calling her ‘cool’ after the climate activist made headlines for slamming Andrew Tate before his arrest.

Musk tweeted, “The sheer amount of brand awareness achieved by Greta within a few years is astounding. I think she’s cool tbh,” while replying to a post about her.

[1 January 2023 13:30 · Stuti Mishra]

Andrew Tate’s kickboxing record edited on Wikipedia to show Greta Thunberg Twitter defeat

ICYMI: Andrew Tate was detained in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, less than 24 hours after the kickboxer turned controversial influencer hit out at climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter.

Following the pair’s heated Twitter exchange, an edited Wikipedia entry has gone viral showing Tate was knocked out by Thunberg in a kickboxing match located on the “Twitter streets”.

The saga began on 29 December when Tate – who was recently reinstated on Twitter after Elon Musk took over the platform – directed a tweet at Thunberg, in which he attempted to bait the 19-year-old climate campaigner into a debate about the carbon emissions of his “33 cars”.

[1 January 2023 19:26 · Natalie Crockett]

We’re pausing live coverage of this story for now. We’ll bring you the latest updates at www.independent.co.uk