(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
(EXCITED CHATTER)
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
MATT SHEA: Few people have become as popular, influential (CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
MATT SHEA: Few people have become as popular, influential
and seemingly wealthy in such a short space of time
as the influencer Andrew Tate.
In December 2022
Tate was arrested in Romania,
accused of rape
and of grooming women into working accused of rape
and of grooming women into working for him as online sex workers.
The world is now focused on his upcoming trial.
But how did Tate become so infamous in such a short space of time?
Surely he didn't do it alone.
For two years I've been investigating
his secretive society, the War Room...
his secretive society, The War Room is a whirlpool.
Once you're in, you're in, The War Room is a whirlpool. and it's hard to get out.
Once you're in, you're in, and it's hard to get out.
..speaking to women who say they were targeted
..speaking to women by this shadowy organisation...
As soon as I walked in the door,
he, like, pushed me to my knees
and, like, smacked me really hard across the face.
..and whistleblowers
who are now ready to reveal what is really going on.
"Let's not kid ourselves - this is a cult."
Who's in charge? Of the War Room?
Could someone else be behind the cult of Andrew Tate?
Could someone else Fuck, there he is. There he is. He's be behind the cult of Andrew Tate? right there. I just saw him come out.
Fuck, there he is. There he is. He's right there. I just saw him come out.
Dude, just go, just go.
I want to ask you Dude, just go, just go.
I want to ask you a couple questions.
I first visited Tate's compound in August 2022...
My best friends. Hello. Hello.
Great to meet you, man. Good to see you. Hello. Hello.
Great to meet you, man. Good to see you.
..where I went inside his so-called secret society, the War Room.
Come here, guys, come up to the front.
They told me the War Room was all about brotherhood,
self-improvement and positive masculinity.
But I felt something more was happening
when, through a hotel window, But I felt something more I saw a group of men was happening
when, through a hotel window, I saw a group of men
when, through a hotel window, photographing naked women.
You can currently join for $8,000 a year,
which gets you access to a telegram group
and the option to spend even more money
by buying exclusive courses and attending events around the world.
The War Room is led by a group of so-called 'generals'. by buying exclusive courses and attending events around the world.
The War Room is led by a group of so-called 'generals'.
The most famous are his brother Tristan,
'Sartorial Shooter' - his head of security and operations,
Jonathan the 'money pilot', his head of security and operations,
Jonathan the 'money pilot',
and Iggy Semmelweis, the mysterious self-proclaimed 'wizard'.
(BANGS)
ARCHIVE REPORTER: The online influencer Andrew Tate
ARCHIVE REPORTER: has been detained in Romania
as part of a human trafficking has been detained in Romania
as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation.
Mr Tate was arrested, as was his brother Tristan.
Mr Tate was arrested, On 29 December 2022
Tate was arrested On 29 December 2022
Tate was arrested by Romanian authorities,
accused of manipulating women into webcam sex work.
It's alleged that he used the 'loverboy' method
as part of his recruitment process.
This is a type of grooming
in which a person presents themselves
as romantically interested in which a person presents themselves
as romantically interested in someone,
as romantically interested promising them a relationship
but with the sole purpose of manipulating them into sex work.
The authorities are focusing their investigation
on Andrew Tate and his brother,
but what I'm interested in
is what's going on at the top level of his organisation.
What is happening inside the War Room?
To find out
I've enlisted the help of someone To find out
I've enlisted the help of someone who says he can show me
what the organisation's real purpose is.
So, as well as hundreds of thousands of Andrew Tate fans,
one of the things that's happening with the internet and Andrew Tate
is the rise of these kind of internet sleuths
who are just obsessed with investigating Andrew Tate.
But the most prolific one by far
is a man who goes by the name of CrabCrawler on Twitter,
is a man who goes by the name and he has access, he says,
to the internal chat logs of Andrew Tate's War Room.
So, we've come to Cleveland to pay him a visit.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)
(KNOCKS)
Hey there, Matt! (KNOCKS)
Hey there, Matt! Nick, hello!
Hey there, Matt! Good to meet you in real life.
Yeah.
Beautiful day in Cleveland to talk about a serious subject.
CrabCrawler developed a platform as a hard-right journalist and blogger, Beautiful day in Cleveland to talk about a serious subject.
CrabCrawler developed a platform as a hard-right journalist and blogger,
where he first encountered Tate, then a rising star of the right,
who is going by his former kickboxing title, CobraTate.
So, do you consider yourself part of the kind of right wing?
Not anymore.
So, this has actually changed your kind of political views,
So, this has actually changed this whole experience?
It corrected me this whole experience?
It corrected me back towards the centre again.
It corrected me But really rattled me the most
was the silence from some right-wing figures
that really should have spoken up about this
and had their horse in this race.
CrabCrawler claims he's now a reformed character
and recently was handed a treasure trove -
12,000 pages of encrypted messages
sent by hundreds of War Room members over the course of two years.
And now that I have these chat logs, these crazy, mind-blowing chat logs,
I can see how complex this situation really is beyond the surface.
I can see how complex this situation So, what is the War Room?
It's one side of an ultimate irony in Andrew Tate's business model.
On one end he exploits the sexual gratification of men
On one end he exploits by putting out webcam girls.
And on the other end
he sells And on the other end
he sells the self-improvement formula
he sells that promises to make men better.
It's a pyramid scheme with some window dressing.
At one end of the scale, for £39 a month,
you could join his Hustler's University,
which promised a path to making money online.
Above this were bespoke courses on topics like chess - £197,
developing an 'iron mind' - £547, on topics like chess - £197,
developing an 'iron mind' - £547,
and right at the top his highest-value product -
membership to Andrew Tate's War Room.
Getting into the War Room
means you're basically brought into the school
means you're basically to learn to become like Andrew Tate,
and that includes the PhD course
of how he lures women into becoming camgirls.
The online course that CrabCrawler is referring to
is called 'the PhD', or 'Pimping Hoes Degree'.
It has been removed from Tate's website
but is a required course to join the elites in the War Room,
but is a required course costing an additional £337.
The PhD is taught by Andrew Tate himself,
and in private, behind a paywall,
he says it teaches men a method for seducing women into a relationship
he says it teaches men a method for and then gradually manipulating them
into working for you in online sex work.
The first thing that's clear
from looking at these encrypted War Room communications
is that Tate and the generals are pushing the PhD course to members.
Andrew Tate says you have to add the PhD program
Andrew Tate says to convert girls to work.
(READS) "PhD is essential.
"Essential.
"Cam course alone won't do it."
It's difficult to know when members are simply bragging,
It's difficult to know but these encrypted messages
show the men in the War Room feeding back to Tate and the generals
how they were putting into action the teachings from the PhD course.
They call this 'showing receipts'.
Men also brag about their control over women
by sharing examples of the punishments
by sharing examples they've meted out on them.
They're eager to show off to other members
when their financial exploitation of women has produced lucrative results.
It's a PhD receipt.
That's the new whip.
That's the whip that my girl bought
for me, registered in my name.
All possible because of the PhD.
So, CrabCrawler has just handed us
almost 12,000 pages So, CrabCrawler has just handed us
almost 12,000 pages of internal War Room telegram chats.
It's going to take a while to go through,
but this is the War Room members talking unfiltered
when they don't think anyone's listening in.
And from these conversations it seems pretty clear
that the War Room is about a lot more than just positive masculinity.
(BIRDS TWITTER)
After verifying the authenticity of these messages
by speaking to the War Room insider who leaked them to CrabCrawler, After verifying the authenticity of these messages
by speaking to the War Room insider who leaked them to CrabCrawler,
we begin to go through them in detail who leaked them to CrabCrawler,
we begin to go through them in detail
and start to notice something.
The person who appears to push the and start to notice something.
The person who appears to push the PhD course most frequently to members
is a War Room general and self-proclaimed 'wizard'
called Iggy Semmelweis.
From his messages,
manipulating women into sex work
seems central to the War Room's agenda.
It's well known that Tate himself is under investigation
for using the 'loverboy' method to coerce women into sex work,
for using the 'loverboy' method but the evidence suggests
that it isn't just Tate allegedly using this method.
The War Room generals are actively teaching it to members,
making this potentially much wider than we thought.
ARCHIVE REPORTER: A court in Romania has agreed to allow
the controversial social-media influencer Andrew Tate
to leave prison and move into house arrest.
On March 31
the Tate brothers win a court appeal to be released under house arrest
while the authorities continue their investigation.
This means we may have a chance to ask him
if he's the leader of a global grooming organisation.
Freedom at last.
(LAUGHTER, CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
(PHONE LINE RINGS)
Andrew, hey.
Yeah, that's what I... That's how I like to think of myself.
Yeah, that's what I... Look, the main reason I'm calling
is I want to see whether you were up for doing another interview.
Because we have a history
and there are still unanswered questions that I want to put to you.
But because of our history...
I'll check with my superiors whether I can send you a box of chocolates.
OK, one quick thing...
(LINE BLIPS) OK, one quick thing... OK.
(LINE BLIPS) OK.
I think he thinks he's even more the messiah than he was before.
He said he was the most relevant person in the world.
And then there's this whole power game
of having to bring him a box of chocolates.
It's so bizarre.
Now I need to find out if I legally It's so bizarre.
Now I need to find out if I legally can bring a box of chocolates
Now I need to find out if I legally or whether that's considered bribery.
Two days later and I'm in Bucharest
on my way back to Andrew Tate's house.
But this time the circumstances feel a bit different.
I really never thought I would meet this man again in my life.
Hey. How's it going?
Hi.
Is Andrew coming out to meet us?
Uh...
Yeah. Who are you?
Matt from the BBC.
Alright. I'm going to let him know.
OK, great. Thank you. Thanks.
(CAMERAMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
It's been now 15 minutes.
OK, so, I spoke with Andrew,
and you either give him the chocolate
and you either and you'll have an interview
or you don't and you don't have.
So, where's the chocolate? or you don't and you don't have.
So, where's the chocolate? Where's he?
He's inside. OK, cool. Yeah, if he comes out...
You have to give him the chocolate first.
No, I'm not gonna give you the chocolate.
No, I'm not gonna If he comes out, I'll give it to him.
You're either going to give me the chocolate,
I'm going to give him the chocolate, you'll have an interview.
If not...
This is getting quite silly, though.
Andrew's being accused of some very serious crimes.
Andrew's being accused Yeah.
He should take this seriously.
So, are you going to be giving the chocolates?
No, I told you I would give it to him when he comes out.
Then I told you that I need the chocolate now.
You must realise how silly this looks.
See you.
Trolling the press is Tate's key tactic
for fighting back against what he and his fans see as the 'Matrix',
a global conspiracy that aims to silence him.
His fans buy into this, a global conspiracy that aims to silence him.
His fans buy into this,
sending me scores of death threats
ranging from "I'm going to wait outside your office
"and slit your throat"
to "there are individuals" who "will dismember you
"in front of your parents."
(PHONE LINE RINGS)
ANDREW TATE: (ON SPEAKERPHONE) Yes, Matt.
ANDREW TATE: (ON SPEAKERPHONE) Hi, Andrew.
No, I don't want to do a quick interview.
I want to do an in-depth, detailed interview.
My first interview under house arrest
is going to be world-breaking, it's going to be massive,
perhaps the biggest internet interview of the year,
perhaps the biggest perhaps of the decade.
I own the culture and I want to do it properly.
I want to give you the chance to give your side of the story.
That's why I'm here.
I'm coming... You're giving ME a chance?!
Yeah, because... You're such a nice guy.
Because, listen, these accusations are coming out regardless.
Because, listen, these accusations Please, Matthew,
you're not giving me a chance, I'M giving YOU a chance.
I've given you a very fair parameter.
It's a parameter that you can either adhere to
or you can go home and fly home economy on Wizz Air.
I don't give a fuck. It's up to you.
Stop calling me. You know the parameter. You decide.
So... So, that's your response to the accusations?
So... So, that's your response Mm. OK.
With Tate refusing to speak to us
to get any answers about whether the War Room uses the 'loverboy' method
to groom women they want to recruit into webcam,
we'll need to speak to those women themselves.
Our investigation has found that, as of August 2022,
there were 434 members of the War Room all around the world.
We have identified 45 potential victims
who are mentioned in CrabCrawler's chat logs.
Though, with limited information,
the true number is likely much higher.
Two of these women have agreed to meet with us,
one in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
and one on the West Coast of the US.
To protect this woman's identity, she's going by the alias Amanda.
Hi. Hi, Amanda.
How's it going? Good. How are you?
Good to meet you. Nice to meet you.
Welcome. Thanks for letting us in.
The man Amanda claims groomed her into online sex work
is one of the War Room generals. Jonathan Bowe,
is one of the War Room generals. AKA 'the money pilot'
because he's a retired US Air Force pilot and currently works for Delta.
I had been chatting with this guy that I met on Tinder,
and we had been talking for, like, a couple of months
and we had been talking about, like, wanting to meet.
You know, I was 21,
um...and, you know, I wasn't making any money.
I was young and in a very vulnerable position.
I didn't feel like I myself had a lot to offer,
so, this, like, older guy kind of being into me, it was attractive.
And we met and we, like, went out on a date.
I wouldn't really say it was much of a date.
He, like, picked me up and we went to, like, a hotel room
He, like, picked me up and slept together.
And the next morning and slept together.
And the next morning he sent me a text.
He asked me if I was interested in working with him on webcam.
I kind of knew of webcam, but not really.
And I instantly was like, "No." Like, "I don't want to do it.
"I have no interest in this."
Up until that first mention of webcam,
Up until that first mention he had portrayed himself as someone
who was romantically interested he had portrayed himself as someone
who was romantically interested in you?
who was romantically interested Absolutely. Yeah.
And, in your mind, this was a date, a relationship?
And, in your mind, this was a date, Yeah, it was.
And I continued seeing this guy.
Like, we chatted all the time and he was really sweet
and just kind of like a nice person to have in my life.
And if I would complain about anything in my life,
he'd be like, "Well, I have a solution for you."
Thousands of miles away in Buenos Aires
a woman we are calling Maria has a similar story.
She met the man who she says groomed her when she was 20.
I think at that time in my life I just wanted, like, security
I think at that time in my life and someone to be there for me,
and here was this guy.
And I had some things and here was this guy.
And I had some things happen in my life,
And I had some things like, I lost my job
and I was like, "OK, I think I might, like, be interested
"in, like, webcamming."
And do you realise now that that was his intention all along?
Both of these women's alleged groomers
used the same method to gradually manipulate them into webcam.
It all began with the same question that Tate had asked me.
He also asked me to bring him, like,
a unique kind of chocolate on the date,
which was, like, a bit weird.
Asking for chocolate
is the first test to see how susceptible a person is to control.
It's important.
I'm telling you it's a very important element, that control,
because once the money starts pouring in,
the girls will be like, "What the fuck do I need this dude for?"
the girls will be like, "What And they will leave
if you don't have every aspect under control.
I felt like I had no control over my life.
He has control of everything, so, is it, like, worth it to leave?
There's no such thing as a perfect woman.
If you want a woman who's perfect for you,
you must build her to be perfect for you.
He would be like, "I have a mission for you."
He'd asked me to, like, clean his apartment.
That kind of humbling bullshit. That's what you want.
THAT'S what you want.
You just have to be like, "OK, I need a coffee. Go make me a coffee."
When I, like, WOULD do well, I was, like, rewarded.
Women want attention.
You're going to reward them Women want attention.
You're going to reward them for their good work with attention.
Easiest way to give a girl attention is to fuck them.
Easiest way to give a girl attention Sex was my reward.
He would, like, whisper things about, like, money into my ear.
If you fucked her, good, sit down with her and say,
"Look, we're gonna get fucking rich together."
The way he approached me with beginning webcam was...
.."You make a ton of money. Like, we'll do this together."
You cannot do a business relationship with a female.
You cannot do a business It doesn't work.
That's when the pimpin' starts. It doesn't work.
That's when the pimpin' starts.
I'd keep 80% of the money they made. So, they basically worked for free.
They worked for my love and attention.
I was giving 80% away.
In total, like, $95,000.
If I wasn't doing well, things would become more violent.
A woman must learn that her man is fuckin' an iron mountain,
and the easiest path is to obey.
Any other kind of resistance simply doesn't work.
There was a night that I had gone over there
There was a night and as soon as I walked in the door
he, like, pushed me to my knees
and, like, smacked me really hard he, like, pushed me to my knees
and, like, smacked me really hard across the face.
He would, like, bruise me, like, pretty badly,
kind of marking his territory.
And that's what I teach in my course.
Yeah, getting the girl and fucking the girl
Yeah, getting the girl is the first 10% of the game. and fucking the girl
is the first 10% of the game.
Having a girl tattoo your name on her
is the other 90%.
He wanted me to tattoo his name on me.
The reason I decided to webcam
was because I liked this guy
and I had developed a bit of trust for him.
We've managed to speak to someone
who claims to have previously been the head
of sales and marketing of the War Room.
Hi.
Thanks for coming all the way out.
Eli spent two years as a member of the War Room,
Eli spent two years working closely with Tate,
but recently left after clashing with its leadership.
So, what first appealed to you about the War Room?
I had never really consumed any 'manosphere',
any, like, 'red pill' stuff online I had never really consumed any 'manosphere',
any, like, 'red pill' stuff online
other than Tate - really, he was any, like, 'red pill' stuff online
other than Tate - really, he was the first person that I came across,
and I watched all of his videos
and I joined the War Room in September 2020.
I was one of those vulnerable men that fell to the marketing,
and I helped propagate that
with my sales and marketing efforts on his team, right?
with my sales and marketing efforts So, how did you help propagate that?
People who would sell the War Room,
we played into the insecurities of men,
meaning that when you saw Tate with a Bugatti, for example,
or you saw Tate as a four-time kickboxing world champion,
he made you believe that that was the ideal that you needed to become
he made you believe that that was in order to get women in your life.
When you talk about women,
are you talking about just sleeping with women
or establishing a relationship? No, no, no. Absolutely not.
or establishing a relationship? The War Room is all about
you getting women The War Room is all about
you getting women that serve you in your life,
that benefit... What do you mean "serve you"?
that benefit... So, the War Room has a methodology
called 'the PhD', So, the War Room has a methodology
called 'the PhD', the Pimping Hoes Degree,
although it was removed from our website
and although it's no longer officially called that,
which is find a woman that's attracted to you
and, you know, obviously sleep with her
and eventually you put her through a sort of Pavlovian conditioning
where, for her to get your attention,
she has to complete tasks, then bigger tasks, then bigger tasks.
And eventually her whole world becomes you
And eventually and she has nothing else except you
and she completely serves you completely.
Quote-unquote, you could call it a 'slave'.
Quote-unquote, She has to do more things for you,
whether it's, you know, wash the dishes, do errands for you
or eventually do OnlyFans webcam,
which was encouraged inside of the War Room.
which was encouraged A lot of people might say
that to teach men A lot of people might say
that to teach men to coerce and manipulate women,
to use Pavlovian conditioning, like you said,
to use Pavlovian conditioning, into working in the sex trade
is immoral and wrong.
I would never do it personally. I've never done it personally.
But that was a big part of what the War Room did.
But that was a big part It was.
Do you regret It was.
Do you regret that you played a part in it?
Do you regret I don't regret it.
Why would I feel guilty of something that I had no control over?
Well, you were part of the marketing team, right?
Yeah. Absolutely. But, during that time, I was brainwashed.
All your friends are inside the War Room.
All of your connections are inside the War Room.
All of your knowledge you consume every day is inside of the War Room.
And they actually encourage you to cut off the surroundings
in your real life.
And you start cutting off friends.
You cut off, you know, old co-workers.
Did they encourage that? They encouraged you.
And, actually, let me tell you a very scary thing.
One of the members inside the War Room, Iggy Semmelweis,
One of the members inside he goes under a few different names,
tells you that your new brothers inside of the War Room
tells you that your new brothers are your new life.
Everyone else before that - it doesn't matter.
"We have here the truth of life, and if you want to follow us,
"you have to," quote-unquote, "kill your parents symbolically
"because they may not agree with the things that you are learning here,
"but it will impede you from moving forward inside of our organisation
"but it will impede you from moving "if you do not kill your parents."
And I thought that was a very scary thing.
But at the moment I actually believed it, believe it or not.
I was so brainwashed.
The War Room and the events, they literally describe it as a cult.
The War Room and the events, they Semmelweis, Iggy, he basically said,
"Let's not kid ourselves - this is a cult."
"Let's not kid ourselves - Who's in charge?
Of the War Room?
Iggy is at the top, yeah.
But he definitely...when you spoke to him, he definitely had an agenda.
He definitely influenced you in ways that were not of your own thinking.
He definitely influenced you in ways How do you mean?
He literally would tell me that, "I went inside of your brain
He literally would tell me that, "and I rearranged things.
"I went in the attic and I started "and I rearranged things.
"I went in the attic and I started moving the furniture around."
"I went in the attic and I started That's how he would describe it.
So, he was very good at reprogramming brains.
And what's his agenda?
I couldn't really tell you exactly what the agenda would be
other than, um...they're gonna take over the world, I guess.
It's very, very grand aspirations.
So, according to Eli, the War Room is a cult
that, while not all members will act on this, teaches men to groom women
and is run by a mysterious man named Iggy Semmelweis.
And Andrew Tate is the secret weapon Iggy uses to market that cult.
It works like this -
Tate has millions of followers It works like this -
Tate has millions of followers
on Twitter and other social-media platforms.
He uses that following to market his app, The Real World.
200,000 of these followers filter into the app,
where they are then sold courses, pushing them to the War Room.
This final tier consists of hundreds of Tate's most ardent followers,
This final tier consists of hundreds but once they're in
they find not just Tate but Iggy Semmelweis lying in wait.
So, who is he?
Well, we've managed to find out
is that Iggy's real name is Miles Sonkin.
He grew up in Chicago,
and later studied hypnosis
as well as something called linguistic programming,
which is based on the unverified belief
that you can control someone's actions
by your choice of words and tone of speech.
by your choice of words But Iggy isn't his first alias.
In the '90s he lived in Japan But Iggy isn't his first alias.
In the '90s he lived in Japan under the name Douglas Hall,
the self-proclaimed 'greatest pickup artist in the world'.
He's sold courses teaching Western men to seduce Japanese women.
And if you fast-forward to late 2018
we get Tate and Iggy
interacting publicly for the first time on Twitter.
Soon after, Tate begins selling his own courses,
and in 2019 the War Room is established.
and in 2019 In the War Room's chat logs from 2019
Iggy greets every new member.
He sends them a document Iggy greets every new member.
He sends them a document called The Survival Scrolls,
which appears to be a manifesto outlining the War Room's agenda.
(READS) "Please read the following books
"in the exact order they are listed.
"in the exact order "They build upon each other.
"The Predatory Female.
"How To Dump Your Wife.
"Pimpology - The 48 Laws Of The Game.
"They train you in setting up The Female Sexual Slavery Frames. "Pimpology - The 48 Laws Of The Game.
"They train you in setting up The Female Sexual Slavery Frames.
"Gs are men of purpose, men of will and men of power
"that the War Room builds.
"All women are merely dragons chasing them.
"Gs understand this reality chasing them.
"Gs understand this reality
to bend the dragons to their will
"and use their power of purpose to bend the dragons to their will
"and get the dragons giving over their hoards of treasure
"while never letting the dragons catch them."
It's not just about sexual exploitation.
It's not just about This is about
financially exploiting women. This is about
financially exploiting women.
It's about turning them into slaves financially exploiting women.
It's about turning them into slaves that you can profit from.
And not just through webcam,
through a number of means, it seems.
(READS) "Seek out women with their own businesses.
"Seek out women with family money.
"Seek out women who are willing to give you their paycheque
"Seek out women who are willing "to use as you see fit."
There's only one thing left to do -
find Iggy.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)
So, we've just found an audio file in the chat logs
that appears to have Iggy addressing a War Room event,
so, we're going to give it a listen.
We're now on our way to Koreatown, LA,
to stake out the apartment.
OK. This is Iggy's road right now.
(INDICATOR CLICKS)
OK. It doesn't look like any of the houses here are expensive.
For the kind of grand master priest of the War Room,
you'd expect it to be a little fancier.
Where? PRODUCER: Yeah, just on the right.
Kind of nervous because, you know, what if we actually do find him...
..what is his reaction going to be?
Will he cast a spell on us?
(DIRECTOR SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
Right here, yeah?
Is this good right here? Right here, yeah?
Is this good right here? That's pretty good, yeah.
OK. Let me go and have a look.
We're just trying to check if...
..the apartment number we have for Iggy is correct.
Our producer, Tashi, is going to go there
because he recognises what I look like.
Guys, he's definitely... (BLEEPING)
..because I went on to the address book on the door.
Miles Sonkin - apartment... (BLEEPING).
Oh, nice. OK.
I think we wait for a bit.
Despite being central to the War Room, writing its reading list
and helping create its methods for grooming women,
Iggy has managed to dodge accountability
by remaining in the shadows.
But now, for the first time,
the master of spells and shadows
will at least have to face questions about his role in all of this.
Oh, fuck, there he is. There he is. He's right there.
Oh, fuck, there he is. There he is. I just saw him come out.
Put your camera down. Put your camera down.
He's walking away. He's walking away.
Yeah, we need to go and park at the end of the road.
Matt, let's go?
Hi! Iggy Semmelweis?
Are you training people Hi! Iggy Semmelweis?
Are you training people in the War Room how to enslave women?
Are you training people Do you run the War Room?
We've seen chat-room evidence
that you're training men We've seen chat-room evidence
that you're training men how to enslave women.
that you're training men Do you care to comment on that?
It looks like from the evidence that we've seen
that you're instructing men how to enslave and manipulate women
that you're instructing men and coerce them into webcam.
You have no comment on that at all?
How long are we going to walk for before you answer me?
We thought Iggy would go back inside, jump in a car
or go somewhere where we couldn't follow him.
But he appears intent on walking the entire breadth of Koreatown.
You have nothing to say to these allegations?
Iggy, we've spoken to several women
who allege that members of the War Room abused them,
coerced them, were physically violent to them.
As the grand high priest of the War Room,
don't you have anything to say about that?
You don't teach men how to get women to fall in love with them,
sleep with them and then coerce them into webcam?
You've used the exact phrase 'female sexual slavery'. What does that mean?
What is it that you saw in Andrew
that made you think he was the perfect person
that made you think to front this whole operation?
Are you not worried about these allegations?
You've nothing to say?
You don't want to defend yourself against these allegations at all?
Well...
..it looks like Iggy Semmelweis, AKA Miles Sonkin,
..it looks like Iggy Semmelweis, doesn't want to talk to us at all.
Hi.
We're a journalist from the BBC.
We're actually investigating this man
We're actually for running a...
..what appears to be an organisation that teaches men how to coerce women.
Does he come here a lot? Yeah? And you got the vibe?
Is he always bringing different women?
You thought he was a pimp?
OK.
Yeah. Of course.
Thanks for talking to us. Have a good one.
(CHUCKLES)
We've given a chance to Iggy
to respond to the very serious allegations
that people are making to him,
including those of multiple women
who accuse him of running an organisation
that trained men how to coerce them, manipulate them,
and some of these men, they say, also physically abused them.
We've given him a chance to respond. He has nothing to say.
Matt, I think Iggy's just tweeted about you.
Matt, I think About me?
(SCOFFS)
(READS) "Matt A Shea and his cameraman
"show up uninvited at my home,
"follow me for half an hour as I walk, ask me silly questions,
"but never offer me a box of chocolates.
"but never offer me "So, I say nothing.
"Now Matt will never know who the "So, I say nothing.
"Now Matt will never know who the real mastermind of the War Room is.
"Now Matt will never know who the "Matt fucked up again."
I mean, it's pretty obvious it's you. (LAUGHS)
Who's the real mastermind of the War Room?
ARCHIVE REPORTER: Prosecutors in Romania have filed formal charges
against the controversial influencer Andrew Tate.
The indictment, deposited with the Bucharest court,
The indictment, says that at the beginning of 2021
the four defendants formed an organised criminal group
to commit human trafficking in Romania
but also in other countries such as the United States and Britain.
On 21 June
Tate was formally charged On 21 June
Tate was formally charged with human trafficking and rape.
But we still have questions about the War Room,
But we still have questions and having to attend court
means Tate won't be able and having to attend court
means Tate won't be able to hide behind his gates.
Is the War Room an international grooming cult, Andrew?
Because I've spoken to three women now who say that it is.
Do you have chocolates? I've spoken to three women...
Do you have chocolates? I've spoken to three women
who say that they've been trained by senior members of the War Room
who say that they've been trained to groom them and abuse them.
Do they have chocolates?
I don't think he has that. Do they have chocolates?
I don't think he has that. So, is the War Room
an international grooming cult of some kind?
I don't think he can afford anything.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Tate has managed to appeal to millions of young men
Tate has managed to appeal by exploiting their insecurities.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
Once in his orbit, these same young men
are encouraged to buy more and more courses,
where their final destination
is a cult that teaches men how to turn women into slaves. where their final destination
is a cult that teaches men how to turn women into slaves.
is a cult that teaches men What we've discovered
is Iggy took What we've discovered Tate's misogynistic persona
is Iggy took Tate's misogynistic persona
and used it to create a global network
and used it with scores of potential victims.
Tate's fame is being used to sell a method of abuse
to men around the world.
But, with his fans now numbering in the tens of millions,
how many of them will this message appeal to?
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Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation