Celebrities
Liam O'Dell
Jan 11, 2023
Parliament TV
In the world of controversial online influencer and once self-described âmisogynistâ Andrew Tate, the hit sci-fi franchise The Matrix, takes on a whole new meaning â but what is the conspiracy theory which has even received support from YouTuber Logan Paul and Twitter owner Elon Musk?
Well, if you havenât seen the hugely successful movies starring Keanu Reeves, then it follows hacker Neo (Reeves) learning that the life he thought he knew is actually a simulation, created by machines who are actually using human being as an energy source.
As you can imagine, the belief that the world weâre currently living in isnât real and that thereâs another reality out there starts to get a bit weird the more you think about it.
In the case of Andrew Tate, the internet personality explained to YouTuber Rob Moore last year: âIn the movie The Matrix, your body heat is being salvaged, and to keep your mind occupied, youâre living inside a false reality, computer generated.
âThe reason I think we live in a matrix now is because I think the same thing is happening. Perhaps itâs not our body heat - perhaps itâs our work, our ideas â but they are being salvaged, and the reality theyâve given us to occupy our brains is false.
âWe donât live in the real world. We are living in a reality where weâre told stories and narratives that arenât true, where they try very hard to distract us with garbage.â
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
He also claimed the powers that be âdelete the opposite sideâ of the story to âcreate a false version of realityâ, and that they âdamage the human psycheâ to the extent that humans are âcompletely empty and open for all forms of slave programmingâ.
\u201cThe Matrix has attacked me.\n\nBut they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea.\n\nHard to Kill.\n\nhttps://t.co/eBRKw7mabU\u201dâ Andrew Tate (@Andrew Tate) 1673197734
âThey convince you to look at somebody and not be sure what gender they are, or to look around you and pretend youâre in a pandemic when everything is fine.
âThey convince you that your own brain is the enemy and that you must just only consume what you are told because once they do that, they can convince you to do something as crazy as ignore your own eyes.
âThen they can simply slot in any USB stick of slave programming at random, whatever they want you to currently believe,â he said.
Needless to say, depression is very much real â as is the pandemic, which has tragically killed hundreds and thousands of people â and transgender people exist and are valid. Itâs easy to see how such a mindset can soon give way to harmful right-wing rhetoric.
Tateâs also spouted the absurd view that there are âthree strikesâ in the system, progressing from trying to âshut you up and discredit youâ, to trying to âput you in jail for no reasonâ, and then finally they âkill youâ.
Weirdly, the aforementioned interview with Rob Moore came out in October, before the former kickboxer was arrested in Romania on human trafficking and rape charges in December â charges which he denies.
Then, amid reports either him or his brother had been hospitalised while in custody, Tate took to Twitter to claim âThe Matrix has attacked meâ.
âBut they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea. Hard to Kill,â he said.
The coincidental matching up to the three-strike system outlined by Tate might convince some people that the so-called Matrix is real, but full details of the hospitalisation have not been made clear.
Also, with ânarrativesâ of concern mentioned by Tate including the coronavirus pandemic and trans rights, we have to wonder whether âThe Matrixâ is merely a synonym for progressive politics and factual institutions.
Thereâs also a contradiction in Tate telling people what to think by telling them there are other people out there telling them what to think.
Make it make sense â or donât, because it doesnât.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Top 100
The Conversation (0)