Chair of Australia’s nationwide broadcaster claims podcaster preys on ‘individuals’s vulnerabilities’ and ‘concern’.
The chair of Australia’s nationwide broadcaster has accused well-liked podcaster Joe Rogan of preying on “individuals’s vulnerabilities” and treating the general public as “plunder”.
Kim Williams, chair of the Australian Broadcasting Company, mentioned on Thursday that he discovered Rogan’s affect to be “deeply repulsive” and a supply of disbelief.
“I believe individuals like Mr Rogan prey on individuals’s vulnerabilities. They prey on concern. They prey on anxiousness. They prey on all the parts that contribute to uncertainty in society, they usually entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a traditional a part of social narrative,” Williams mentioned after an tackle to the Nationwide Press Membership in Canberra.
Williams mentioned that he was dismayed that Rogan was a “supply of public leisure when it’s actually treating the general public as plunder for functions which might be actually fairly malevolent”.
Williams made his remarks in response to a reporter’s query about Rogan’s recognition amongst males and his affect on the USA presidential election.
President-elect Donald Trump appeared on Rogan’s podcast within the run-up to the election for a freewheeling three-hour interview that has racked up greater than 52 million views on YouTube.
LOL WUT https://t.co/xXJ9DlYr55
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) November 27, 2024
Some Democrats have criticised US Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s election opponent, for not sitting down with Rogan, suggesting it was indicative of her failure to attach with younger males.
Harris’s marketing campaign crew has mentioned they mentioned an interview with Rogan however had been unable to lock down a date as a consequence of scheduling conflicts.
Rogan, who has 17.3 million subscribers on YouTube and 14.5 million followers on Spotify, on Thursday replied to Williams’s criticism in a two-word submit on X: “LOL WUT”.
The ABC chair’s feedback additionally draw swift criticism from conservative voices on-line, with tech billionaire Elon Musk labelling the broadcaster Australia’s “Pravda”, a reference to the official mouthpiece of the Communist Occasion of the Soviet Union.
In a subsequent ABC radio interview, Williams elaborated on his criticisms, saying Rogan had performed an “huge quantity of harm” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic together with his feedback on vaccines.
Rogan has denied being towards vaccines however mentioned he wouldn’t get the COVID vaccine himself as he had antibodies from contracting the coronavirus and likewise wouldn’t suggest a wholesome 21-year-old to take the shot.
Williams additionally decried what he mentioned was the “big pile-on” he skilled over his feedback.
“What fascinates me is you say one thing adverse about Joe Rogan – and I’ve been swarmed with essentially the most unbelievably vicious responses,” he mentioned.