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
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 connect with young men.
Harris’s campaign team has said they discussed an interview with Rogan but were unable to lock down a date due to 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 post on X: “LOL WUT”.
The ABC chair’s comments also draw swift criticism from conservative voices online, with tech billionaire Elon Musk labelling the broadcaster Australia’s “Pravda”, a reference to the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
In a subsequent ABC radio interview, Williams elaborated on his criticisms, saying Rogan had done an “enormous amount of damage” during the COVID-19 pandemic with his comments on vaccines.
Rogan has denied being against vaccines but said he would not get the COVID vaccine himself as he had antibodies from contracting the coronavirus and also would not recommend a healthy 21-year-old to take the shot.
Williams also decried what he said was the “huge pile-on” he experienced over his comments.
“What fascinates me is you say something negative about Joe Rogan – and I have been swarmed with the most unbelievably vicious responses,” he said.
