Sacha Baron Cohen returned to Twitter for the first time in 2021 to react to the siege of the United States Capitol by pro-Trump rebels. Addressing executives at social media giants Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google, comedian “Borat” called for Donald Trump’s total ban on platforms after the US president “incited a violent attack on American democracy”.
Baron Cohen’s post reads as follows: “Hey, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack [Dorsey], Susan Wojcicki and Sundar Pichai, Donald Trump have just incited a violent attack on American democracy. Is this FINALLY enough for you to act ?! It’s time to ban Donald Trump from his platforms once and for all! “
Facebook has been the target of Baron Cohen for several years. During an opening viral speech in 2019, the comedian called the social media company founded by Zuckerberg “the biggest advertising machine in history”. Baron Cohen expanded this point in a 2020 essay for Time magazine, calling Facebook “Trump’s zealous ally” in creating “a whirlwind of conspiracy madness”. Notably, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” includes a scene in which the main character believes in a Facebook conspiracy theory about the Holocaust.
“The Chief Demagogue has a voluntary accomplice on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook – a megaphone that the worst autocrats in history could only dream of,” wrote Baron Cohen on Facebook. “Its algorithm deliberately amplifies the content that generates more engagement … It is not surprising that, on most days, the top 10 Facebook posts are, for the most part, from experts and right-wing vehicles.
Baron Cohen often uses his Twitter profile to share messages from the Center for Countering Digital Hate. In late December, the comedian drew the attention of his followers that Facebook and Instagram are home to “anti-xxx accounts with 40 million followers” as well as “accounts that sell neo-Nazi goods to finance far-right extremism. “
Reacting in November to news that Facebook would not ban Steve Bannon from the platform after he asked for the beheading of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Baron Cohen posted, “Reprehensible. Mark Zuckerberg confirms that Facebook will not ban people who call the murder – as long as they don’t do it very often! Make no mistake – like Myanmar and Kenosha, more innocent people will be killed. And Facebook will be the reason. “
Hi Mark Zuckerberg, @jack, @SusanWojcicki and @sundarpichai – Donald Trump has just incited a violent attack on American democracy.
Is this FINALLY enough for you to act ?!
It’s time to ban Donald Trump from his platforms once and for all! pic.twitter.com/4oWoiMu0eC
– Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) January 6, 2021
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