UNITED STATES: The BBC has uncovered evidence indicating that members of influencer Andrew Tate’s “War Room” group groomed numerous women into online sex work.
Internal chat logs, leaked to the BBC, reveal around 45 potential victims between March 2019 and April 2020, although the actual count could be higher.
The leaked texts also suggest the strategies employed by War Room members to exploit these potential victims. Tate denies any allegations of misconduct and asserts his readiness to defend his innocence.
The BBC’s findings are “another brazen attempt to present one-sided, unverified” claims against him, according to a statement from his press representative.
The 36-year-old ex-kickboxer, who is facing charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania, was granted release from house arrest on August 4th until his trial. Last week, the BBC disclosed explicit evidence collected by Romanian prosecutors. His brother Tristan and two partners are also accused, but they have all refuted the claims.
The latest investigation by the BBC, featured in the documentary “Andrew Tate: The Man Who Groomed the World?”, focuses on approximately 12,000 pages of encrypted Telegram messages sent by numerous members of the War Room.
However, the BBC’s access to the records was restricted to messages received over a period of 13 months, so the overall number of women who may have been targeted and taken advantage of by the group, which was created in 2019, may be significantly higher.
The War Room, which Tate claims is a network of powerful men and those looking to learn from them, costs $8,000 (£6,300) a year to join.
“The War Room promotes self-discipline, motivation, and confidence building while giving members access to thousands of professionals from around the world who encourage personal responsibility and accountability, emphasising the importance of taking ownership of your choices and actions,” reads the statement issued by Tate.
However, the leaked conversations reveal that the War Room instructs members through its purported “PhD” course—the letters stand for “Pimpin’ Hoes Degree”—on how to prepare women for sex work.
Some of the War Room leadership, also known as the “generals,” give members instructions on how to attract women sexually, manipulate their emotions, and isolate them socially before coaxing them into appearing on webcams and frequently pocketing all or the majority of the money they earn.
While the Tate brothers have received the majority of the media coverage around the organisation, the BBC’s research revealed that a self-described “wizard” who goes by the nickname “Iggy Semmelweiss” appears to be the War Room’s genuine leader and intellectual driving force.
The messages, which the BBC received exclusively, appear to indicate that some of Tate’s “generals” trained and promoted violence against women.
They included images of a woman hunched over with significant scratches and bruises on her lower back with the phrase “Who am I?”
Another communication shared by a prominent member using the alias “Joe Lampton” detailed his response to a complaint from a female employee under his supervision. “I took her keyboard and hit her in the head with it,” the message stated. “She went into the room and worked for 7 hours without taking a break.”
The BBC’s research found that there were 434 War Room members worldwide as of August 2022.
The BBC talked to two women who said that War Room members had taken advantage of them. Despite the fact that they are thousands of miles apart, it is obvious from their accounts that the men employed similar tactics.
The “lover Jiboy method” is a technique used by these men to progressively manipulate women into having sex with them after the two women initially thought they were romantically involved with them.
The anonymous “Maria” from Buenos Aires, Argentina, says that “he used sex a lot to manipulate me.”
The ladies claim they were also exposed to abuse, kept apart from their friends, and made to complete menial activities as a sign of their submission.
Amanda, also a pseudonym, who resides on the west coast of the US, claims she handed two War Room members up to 80% of her earnings at any given moment, or $95,000.
Amanda told the BBC that a “general” smacked her across the face while taking advantage of her and showing us pictures of the bruises. “He had control of everything,” she said.
The leaked chats reveal that War Room members seem to think they are “Pavlovian conditioning” women—“This is how you train dogs,” one message reads. “Generals” usually provide orders.
They use “tests of submission,” like convincing women to get the War Room members’ initials tattooed on their bodies, as part of their grooming strategy.
Eli, a whistleblower who claims to have worked for the Tate organisation for two years as its head of sales and marketing, told the BBC that “The War Room is all about you getting women that serve you in your life.” Eli claims the Tate group is a “cult” and that they “brainwashed” him.
Eli also talked about “Iggy Semmelweiss” and his role in the War Room. When asked who was really in command of the group, the whistleblower responded, “Iggy is at the top.”
Miles Sonkin is “Iggy’s” real name. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois, and was born in 1961. He is a former member of at least two claimed cults. In the 2000s, he became interested in the far right. It looks like they first connected around 2018.
Soon after, Tate began marketing his own courses, and in 2019, the War Room was founded. All new War Room members receive a reading list and a manifesto explaining the group’s goals from Sonkin.
Nonetheless, Andrew Tate, boasting 7.6 million Twitter followers and numerous fans aspiring to replicate his way of life, continues to be the central figure for the group despite an impending trial.
The BBC’s findings “not only present false accusations but insult the vast community that considers Andrew Tate a life-changing positive force,” his spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the statement, Tate is prepared to pursue any legal action required to prove his innocence and punish those responsible for false accusations accountable.
The BBC’s investigation indicates that his fame is being leveraged to sell a method of abuse to men across the world.
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