ABC boss Kim Williams launches extraordinary attack on Joe Rogan: ‘Prey on people’s vulnerabilities’

ABC chair Kim Williams has launched an extraordinary attack on Joe Rogan claiming the globally successful podcast host ‘preys on people’s vulnerability’.

Williams made the comment while speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

He was asked by an ABC reporter on how the national broadcaster could increase its audience size similar to that of the US podcaster.

‘I am not a consumer or enthusiast about Mr Rogan and his work,’ he said. 

‘I think that 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 went on to say he found it ‘deeply repulsive’ a celebrity could have so much power in the US.

‘I’m also absolutely in dismay that this can be a source of public entertainment, when it’s really treating the public as plunder for purposes that are really quite malevolent,’ he said.

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