Comedian and documentarian Sacha Baron Cohen lambasted Facebook and other major social media networks for their lack of action to prevent spreading harmful content while giving a keynote address for the Anti-Defamation League on Nov 21,2019.

Cohen is known for his satirical roles as Ali G in the British show “The 11 O’clock Show” and gain American attention for his 2006 documentary “Borat: Cultural Learnings of American for Make Benefit Glorious” and his 2009 documentary “Bruno”.  At the event, he described social media platforms Facebook, YouTube and Twitter as “the greatest propaganda machine in history.” 

The actor said his roles in his documentaries have exposed the society’s prejudices.  He said, “As Borat a fake journalist form Kazakhstan, Borat was able to get an entire bar in Arizona to sing ‘throw the Jew down the well’.”  “As Bruno, a gay fashion reporter from Austria, I started kissing a man in a cage fight in Arkansas, nearly starting a riot.  It shows the violent potential of homophobia,” Cohen said.

“Today around the world, demagogues appeal to our worst instincts. Conspiracy theories once confined to the fringe are going mainstream,” Cohen said, pointing out the spreading of dangerous rhetoric. 

Cohen said this could be troubling democracy. “Hate crimes are surging, as are murderous attacks on religious and ethnic minorities,” Cohen said.   Cohen pointed out that the algorithms social media relies on amplifies the content to keep users engaged. 

The actor said internet websites have a responsibility to address the damaging content on their networks that has dangerous implications.  Since the event there have been a list of events that showcased how important that claim was with the insurrection of the United States Capitol building and mass shootings across the nation that were influenced by social media sites.

Cohen said, “Publishers can be sued for libel, people can be sued for defamation, but social media companies are largely protected from liability for content their users post, no matter how indecent it is by Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act.”  

According to Cornell Law School, under civil liberties section, “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of any action voluntarily taken, the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that he doesn’t want limits to pull back on free expression.  He said, “The site has to allow a diversity of ideas.”  The CEO said that “people should decide what is credible, not tech companies.”  Another claim Zuckerberg said, “The regulation of companies like his would repress societies.”

Cohen said social media giants are capable of moderating their websites.  “The richest companies in the world and they have the best engineers in the world, they could deploy an algorithm to remove white supremacist hate speech but haven’t because it would eject some prominent politicians from their platforms,” he said.

“In every other industry, a company can be held liable when their product is defective,” Cohen said.  “Let’s also hold these companies responsible for those who use their sites to advocate for mass murder of children because of their race or religion,” the actor said. 

“If we prioritize truth over lies, tolerance over prejudice, empathy over indifference and experts over ignoramuses, then we can stop the greatest propaganda machine in history.”