FACEBOOK HOSTS VILE ANDREW TATE CONTENT DESPITE ITS OWN BAN

Verified page racks up 9 million 'likes' as other sites spawn copycat posts

- BEN TURNER

CONTROVERSIAL influencer Andrew Tate gained nine million followers on Facebook despite its pledge to ban him.

The 36-year-old was removed from social media platforms last year for sharing harmful content - including saying rape victims should "bear responsibility" for being attacked.

Tate, a dual US/UK citizen who grew up in Luton, Beds, is facing charges of rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group in Romania, which he denies.

Yet despite its own ban, Facebook hosted a "verified page" in his name for over a month - only removing it after being alerted by this newspaper.

By then, it had almost nine million likes. Liking a page on Facebook is similar to the "follow" option on other sites. Facebook says its verified badge is a tool to help "find people and brands' real pages", adding: "If a page or profile has the badge, we've confirmed it represents who it says it does.