Chair of Australia’s national broadcaster claims podcaster preys on ‘people’s vulnerabilities’ and ‘fear’.The chair of Australia’s national broadcaster has accused popular podcaster Joe Rogan of preying on “people’s vulnerabilities” and treating the public as “plunder”.
Kim Williams, chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, said on Thursday that he found Rogan’s influence to be “deeply repulsive” and a source of disbelief.
“I think people like Mr Rogan prey on people’s vulnerabilities. They prey on fear. They prey on anxiety. They prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society, and they entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of social narrative,” Williams said after an address to the National Press Club in Canberra.
Williams said that he was dismayed that Rogan was a “source of public entertainment when it’s really treating the public as plunder for purposes that are really quite malevolent”.
Williams made his remarks in response to a reporter’s question about Rogan’s popularity among men and his influence on the United States presidential election.
President-elect Donald Trump appeared on Rogan’s podcast in the run-up to the election for a freewheeling three-hour interview that has racked up more than 52 million views on YouTube.
LOL WUT https://t.co/xXJ9DlYr55
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) November 27, 2024
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