WEBVTT 00:00:01.530 --> 00:00:03.659 thank you very much thanks everyone who 00:00:03.659 --> 00:00:06.900 stood up unnecessary but very flattering 00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:09.090 Thank You Jonathan for your very kind 00:00:09.090 --> 00:00:11.550 words thank you the anti-defamation 00:00:11.550 --> 00:00:14.910 league for this recognition and your 00:00:14.910 --> 00:00:17.730 work in fighting racism hate and bigotry 00:00:17.730 --> 00:00:21.480 and to be clear when I say racism hate 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:23.760 and bigotry I'm not referring to the 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:27.949 names of Stephen Miller's labradoodles 00:00:29.750 --> 00:00:33.210 now I realize that some of you may be 00:00:33.210 --> 00:00:35.910 thinking what the hell is a comedian 00:00:35.910 --> 00:00:38.250 doing speaking at a conference like this 00:00:38.250 --> 00:00:42.690 I certainly am I've spent most of the 00:00:42.690 --> 00:00:45.180 past two decades in character in fact 00:00:45.180 --> 00:00:48.210 this is the first ever time that I've 00:00:48.210 --> 00:00:50.489 stood up and given a speech as my least 00:00:50.489 --> 00:00:57.469 popular character Sacha Baron Cohen and 00:00:57.469 --> 00:01:02.539 I have to confess it is terrifying I 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:05.099 realized that my presence here may also 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:07.110 be unexpected for another reason 00:01:07.110 --> 00:01:09.689 at times some critics have said my 00:01:09.689 --> 00:01:13.590 comedy risks reinforcing old stereotypes 00:01:13.590 --> 00:01:16.350 the truth is I've been passionate about 00:01:16.350 --> 00:01:18.750 challenging bigotry and intolerance 00:01:18.750 --> 00:01:21.659 throughout my life as a teenager in 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:23.640 England I marched against the fascist 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:26.340 National Front and to abolish apartheid 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:29.040 as an undergraduate I traveled around 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:31.590 America and wrote my thesis about the 00:01:31.590 --> 00:01:33.720 civil rights movement with the help of 00:01:33.720 --> 00:01:36.090 the archives of the ADL and as a 00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:38.610 comedian I've tried to use my characters 00:01:38.610 --> 00:01:40.979 to get people to let down their guard 00:01:40.979 --> 00:01:43.490 and reveal what they actually believe 00:01:43.490 --> 00:01:46.920 including their own prejudice now I'm 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:48.119 not going to claim that everything I've 00:01:48.119 --> 00:01:50.810 done has been for a higher purpose yes 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:53.670 some of my comedy okay probably half my 00:01:53.670 --> 00:01:56.939 comedy has been absolutely juvenile and 00:01:56.939 --> 00:01:59.820 the other half completely puerile 00:01:59.820 --> 00:02:02.880 but I admit there was nothing 00:02:02.880 --> 00:02:05.159 particularly enlightening about me as 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:07.979 Borat from Kazakhstan the first fake 00:02:07.979 --> 00:02:10.919 news journalist running through a 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:13.140 conference of mortgage brokers while I 00:02:13.140 --> 00:02:14.670 was completely naked 00:02:14.670 --> 00:02:17.880 but when Bora was able to get an entire 00:02:17.880 --> 00:02:20.069 bar in Arizona to sing through either 00:02:20.069 --> 00:02:23.940 Jill down the well it did reveal 00:02:23.940 --> 00:02:26.660 people's indifference to anti-semitism 00:02:26.660 --> 00:02:30.450 when as Bruno the gay fashion reporter 00:02:30.450 --> 00:02:31.320 from Austria 00:02:31.320 --> 00:02:33.690 I started kissing a man in a cage fight 00:02:33.690 --> 00:02:36.690 in Arkansas nearly starting a riot it 00:02:36.690 --> 00:02:39.290 showed the violent potential of 00:02:39.290 --> 00:02:42.300 homophobia and when disguised there's an 00:02:42.300 --> 00:02:45.569 ultra woke developer I proposed building 00:02:45.569 --> 00:02:47.850 a mosque in one rural community 00:02:47.850 --> 00:02:50.940 prompting a resident to proudly admit I 00:02:50.940 --> 00:02:54.959 am racist against Muslims it showed the 00:02:54.959 --> 00:02:57.360 growing acceptance of Islamophobia 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:59.880 that's why I really appreciate the 00:02:59.880 --> 00:03:02.360 opportunity to be here with you today 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:05.790 around the world demagogues appeal to 00:03:05.790 --> 00:03:08.790 our worst instincts conspiracy theories 00:03:08.790 --> 00:03:11.580 once confined to the fringe are going 00:03:11.580 --> 00:03:14.580 mainstream it's as if the age of reason 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:18.660 the era of evidential argument is ending 00:03:18.660 --> 00:03:21.150 and now knowledge is increasingly D 00:03:21.150 --> 00:03:24.299 legitimized and scientific consensus is 00:03:24.299 --> 00:03:27.720 dismissed democracy which depends on 00:03:27.720 --> 00:03:30.660 shared truths is in retreat and 00:03:30.660 --> 00:03:33.810 autocracy which depends on shared lies 00:03:33.810 --> 00:03:37.500 is on the march hate crimes are surging 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.110 as a murderous attacks and religious and 00:03:40.110 --> 00:03:42.720 ethnic minorities now what do all these 00:03:42.720 --> 00:03:45.060 dangerous trends have in common 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:47.459 I'm just a comedian and an act I'm not a 00:03:47.459 --> 00:03:50.700 scholar but one thing is pretty clear to 00:03:50.700 --> 00:03:54.450 me all this hate and violence is being 00:03:54.450 --> 00:03:56.880 facilitated by a handful of Internet 00:03:56.880 --> 00:03:59.549 companies that amount to the greatest 00:03:59.549 --> 00:04:03.739 propaganda machine in history 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:08.940 the greatest propaganda machine in 00:04:08.940 --> 00:04:10.350 history let's think about it Facebook 00:04:10.350 --> 00:04:13.290 YouTube and Google Twitter and others 00:04:13.290 --> 00:04:15.780 they reach billions of people the 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:18.440 algorithms these platforms depend on 00:04:18.440 --> 00:04:21.510 deliberately amplify the type of content 00:04:21.510 --> 00:04:24.630 that keeps users engaged stories that 00:04:24.630 --> 00:04:27.480 appeal to our baser instincts and that 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:29.940 trigger outrage and fear it's why 00:04:29.940 --> 00:04:32.610 YouTube recommended videos by the 00:04:32.610 --> 00:04:36.060 conspiracist alex jones billions of 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:39.480 times it's why fake news outperforms 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.240 real news because studies show that lies 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:45.510 spread faster than truth and it's no 00:04:45.510 --> 00:04:46.860 surprise that the greatest propaganda 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:48.240 machine in history 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.210 has spread the oldest conspiracy theory 00:04:51.210 --> 00:04:54.150 in history the lie that Jews are somehow 00:04:54.150 --> 00:04:57.630 dangerous as one headline put it 00:04:57.630 --> 00:05:00.210 just think what gurbles could have done 00:05:00.210 --> 00:05:04.320 with Facebook on the internet everything 00:05:04.320 --> 00:05:08.190 can appear equally legitimate Breitbart 00:05:08.190 --> 00:05:10.530 resembles the BBC the fictitious 00:05:10.530 --> 00:05:13.350 protocols of the Elders of Zion look as 00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:16.800 valid as an ADL report and the rantings 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:18.990 of a lunatic seem as credible as the 00:05:18.990 --> 00:05:22.200 findings of a Nobel Prize winner we have 00:05:22.200 --> 00:05:24.690 lost it seems a shared sense of basic 00:05:24.690 --> 00:05:29.190 facts upon which democracy depends when 00:05:29.190 --> 00:05:32.250 I as the wannabe gangsta led asked the 00:05:32.250 --> 00:05:35.670 astronaut Buzz Aldrin what would they 00:05:35.670 --> 00:05:38.960 like to walk on the Sun 00:05:40.930 --> 00:05:44.750 the joke worked because we the audience 00:05:44.750 --> 00:05:48.290 shared the same facts if you believe the 00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:51.350 moon landing was a hoax the joke doesn't 00:05:51.350 --> 00:05:54.620 work when Borat got that bar in Arizona 00:05:54.620 --> 00:05:58.070 to agree that Jews control everybody's 00:05:58.070 --> 00:06:02.150 money and they never give it back the 00:06:02.150 --> 00:06:04.550 joke worked because the audience shared 00:06:04.550 --> 00:06:07.210 the fact that the depiction of Jews as 00:06:07.210 --> 00:06:10.400 miserly is a conspiracy theory 00:06:10.400 --> 00:06:13.370 originating in the Middle Ages but when 00:06:13.370 --> 00:06:16.040 thanks to social media conspiracies take 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:18.890 hold it is easier for hate groups to 00:06:18.890 --> 00:06:21.560 recruit easier for foreign intelligence 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:24.800 agencies to interfere in our elections 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:28.670 and easier for a country like Myanmar to 00:06:28.670 --> 00:06:33.700 commit genocide against the ringa 00:06:37.960 --> 00:06:41.180 now it's actually quite shocking how 00:06:41.180 --> 00:06:43.640 easy it is to turn conspiracy thinking 00:06:43.640 --> 00:06:46.040 into violence in my last show who is 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:46.760 America 00:06:46.760 --> 00:06:49.520 I found an educated normal guy who had 00:06:49.520 --> 00:06:52.550 held down a good job but who on social 00:06:52.550 --> 00:06:54.860 media repeated many of the conspiracy 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:57.590 theories their president Trump using 00:06:57.590 --> 00:07:01.100 Twitter has spread more than 1700 times 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:05.030 to his 67 million Twitter followers the 00:07:05.030 --> 00:07:07.190 president even tweeted that he was 00:07:07.190 --> 00:07:10.790 considering designating and Tifa who are 00:07:10.790 --> 00:07:12.560 anti fascists who march against the 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:16.640 far-right as a terror organization so 00:07:16.640 --> 00:07:19.120 disguised and then as an Israeli 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:24.520 anti-terrorism expert : lol harmalard 00:07:24.520 --> 00:07:27.610 yalla let go 00:07:27.610 --> 00:07:30.020 disguised as him I told my interviewee 00:07:30.020 --> 00:07:31.760 there at the Women's March in San 00:07:31.760 --> 00:07:34.430 Francisco and Tifa were plotting to put 00:07:34.430 --> 00:07:38.000 hormones into babies diapers in order to 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:42.440 make them turns again there and this man 00:07:42.440 --> 00:07:45.230 believed it I instructed him to plant 00:07:45.230 --> 00:07:47.330 small devices on three innocent people 00:07:47.330 --> 00:07:49.340 at the March and explained that when he 00:07:49.340 --> 00:07:50.120 pushed a button 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:52.490 he'd trigger an explosion that would 00:07:52.490 --> 00:07:54.410 kill them all they weren't real 00:07:54.410 --> 00:07:56.360 explosives of course but he thought they 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:59.330 were I wanted to see would he actually 00:07:59.330 --> 00:08:03.260 do it the answer was yes he pushed the 00:08:03.260 --> 00:08:04.760 button and thought he had actually 00:08:04.760 --> 00:08:08.270 killed three human beings Voltaire was 00:08:08.270 --> 00:08:11.690 right when he said those who can make 00:08:11.690 --> 00:08:14.720 you believe absurdities can make you 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:19.580 commit atrocities and social media lets 00:08:19.580 --> 00:08:25.430 authoritarianism now in their defense 00:08:25.430 --> 00:08:28.070 these social media companies have taken 00:08:28.070 --> 00:08:29.960 some steps to reduce hate and 00:08:29.960 --> 00:08:32.659 conspiracies on their platforms that 00:08:32.659 --> 00:08:34.789 these steps have been mainly superficial 00:08:34.789 --> 00:08:37.220 and I'm talking about this today because 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:39.049 I believe that our pluralistic 00:08:39.049 --> 00:08:41.990 democracies are on a precipice and in 00:08:41.990 --> 00:08:44.210 the next 12 months and the role of 00:08:44.210 --> 00:08:48.050 social media could be determinant now 00:08:48.050 --> 00:08:49.670 British voters will go to the polls 00:08:49.670 --> 00:08:50.900 while online 00:08:50.900 --> 00:08:54.140 Spira says promote the despicable theory 00:08:54.140 --> 00:08:56.870 of the great replacement that white 00:08:56.870 --> 00:08:58.610 Christians are being deliberately 00:08:58.610 --> 00:09:02.360 replaced by Muslim immigrants Americans 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:05.030 will vote for president while trolls and 00:09:05.030 --> 00:09:08.150 BOTS perpetuate that it's the disgusting 00:09:08.150 --> 00:09:12.020 lie of a Hispanic invasion and after 00:09:12.020 --> 00:09:14.450 years of YouTube videos calling climate 00:09:14.450 --> 00:09:17.630 change a hoax the United States is on 00:09:17.630 --> 00:09:20.540 track a year from now to formally 00:09:20.540 --> 00:09:24.080 withdraw from the Paris Accords a sewer 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.020 of bigotry and vile conspiracy theories 00:09:27.020 --> 00:09:29.420 that threaten our democracy in to some 00:09:29.420 --> 00:09:32.870 degree our planet this can't possibly be 00:09:32.870 --> 00:09:34.520 what the creators of the internet had in 00:09:34.520 --> 00:09:37.910 mind I believe that it's time for a 00:09:37.910 --> 00:09:40.490 fundamental rethink of social media and 00:09:40.490 --> 00:09:43.700 how it spreads hate conspiracies and 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:45.880 lies 00:09:52.170 --> 00:09:56.640 now last month however Mark Zuckerberg 00:09:56.640 --> 00:09:59.310 of Facebook delivered a major speech 00:09:59.310 --> 00:10:03.150 that not surprisingly warned against new 00:10:03.150 --> 00:10:04.890 laws and regulations on companies like 00:10:04.890 --> 00:10:08.280 his well some of these arguments are 00:10:08.280 --> 00:10:12.810 simply part of my French let's 00:10:12.810 --> 00:10:13.770 count the ways 00:10:13.770 --> 00:10:16.650 first Zuckerberg tried to portray this 00:10:16.650 --> 00:10:20.130 whole issue as choices around free 00:10:20.130 --> 00:10:23.670 expression that is ludicrous this is not 00:10:23.670 --> 00:10:26.970 about limiting anyone's free speech this 00:10:26.970 --> 00:10:28.950 is about giving people including some of 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:31.530 the most reprehensible people on earth 00:10:31.530 --> 00:10:34.320 the biggest platform in history to reach 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:37.230 a third of the planet freedom of speech 00:10:37.230 --> 00:10:41.250 is not freedom of reach sadly there will 00:10:41.250 --> 00:10:43.950 always be racist misogynist anti-semites 00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:47.070 and child abusers but I think we can all 00:10:47.070 --> 00:10:48.570 agree that we should not be giving 00:10:48.570 --> 00:10:51.930 bigots and pedophiles a free platform to 00:10:51.930 --> 00:10:54.150 amplify their views and target their 00:10:54.150 --> 00:10:56.660 victims 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.630 second Mark Zuckerberg claimed that new 00:11:03.630 --> 00:11:05.610 limits on what's posted on social media 00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:08.750 would be to pull back on free expression 00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:11.940 this is utter nonsense the First 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:14.940 Amendment says that and I quote Congress 00:11:14.940 --> 00:11:17.970 shall make no law abridging freedom of 00:11:17.970 --> 00:11:20.070 speech however this does not apply to 00:11:20.070 --> 00:11:22.470 private businesses like Facebook 00:11:22.470 --> 00:11:24.720 we're not asking these companies to 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:26.430 determine the boundaries of free speech 00:11:26.430 --> 00:11:29.760 across society we just want them to be 00:11:29.760 --> 00:11:33.000 responsible on their platforms now if a 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:34.980 neo-nazi comes goose-stepping into a 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:37.050 restaurant and starts threatening other 00:11:37.050 --> 00:11:39.090 customers and say he wants to kill Jews 00:11:39.090 --> 00:11:41.610 would the owner of the restaurant a 00:11:41.610 --> 00:11:44.130 private business be required to serve 00:11:44.130 --> 00:11:46.790 him an elegant eight course meal of 00:11:46.790 --> 00:11:48.420 course not 00:11:48.420 --> 00:11:50.790 the restaurant owner has every legal 00:11:50.790 --> 00:11:53.700 right and indeed I would argue a moral 00:11:53.700 --> 00:11:57.060 obligation to kick that Nazi out and so 00:11:57.060 --> 00:12:00.320 do these internet companies 00:12:03.640 --> 00:12:07.460 now third Mark Zuckerberg seemed to 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:09.710 equate regulation of companies like his 00:12:09.710 --> 00:12:12.880 to the actions of the most repressive 00:12:12.880 --> 00:12:17.270 societies incredible this from one of 00:12:17.270 --> 00:12:19.580 the six people who decide what 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:23.020 information so much of the world sees 00:12:23.020 --> 00:12:26.240 Zuckerberg it's at Facebook sundar 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:29.060 pichai at Google at its parent company 00:12:29.060 --> 00:12:31.390 alphabet Larry Page and Sergey Brin 00:12:31.390 --> 00:12:33.620 Bryn's ex-sister-in-law 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:36.290 Susan Wojcicki at YouTube and Jack 00:12:36.290 --> 00:12:40.640 Dorsey at Twitter the silicon six all 00:12:40.640 --> 00:12:44.450 billionaires all Americans who care more 00:12:44.450 --> 00:12:46.940 about boosting their share price than 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:55.210 about protecting democracy this this is 00:12:55.210 --> 00:12:58.940 ideological imperialism six unelected 00:12:58.940 --> 00:13:01.760 individuals in Silicon Valley imposing 00:13:01.760 --> 00:13:04.270 their vision on the rest of the world 00:13:04.270 --> 00:13:06.740 unaccountable to any government and 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:09.020 acting like they're a bomb for the reach 00:13:09.020 --> 00:13:11.390 of law it's like we're living in the 00:13:11.390 --> 00:13:13.460 Roman Empire and Mark Zuckerberg is 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:15.950 Caesar at least that would explain his 00:13:15.950 --> 00:13:18.400 haircut 00:13:18.630 --> 00:13:23.200 now here's an idea instead of letting 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:25.810 the silicon sects decide the fate of the 00:13:25.810 --> 00:13:29.100 world let our elected representatives 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:32.230 voted for by the people of every 00:13:32.230 --> 00:13:34.510 democracy in the world have at least 00:13:34.510 --> 00:13:38.530 some say 4th Zuckerberg speaks of 00:13:38.530 --> 00:13:42.070 welcoming a diversity of ideas and last 00:13:42.070 --> 00:13:45.010 year he gave us an example he said that 00:13:45.010 --> 00:13:47.590 he found post denying the Holocaust 00:13:47.590 --> 00:13:50.260 deeply offensive but he didn't think 00:13:50.260 --> 00:13:53.290 Facebook should take them down because I 00:13:53.290 --> 00:13:54.970 think there are things that different 00:13:54.970 --> 00:13:58.540 people get wrong at this very moment 00:13:58.540 --> 00:14:01.300 there are still Holocaust deniers on 00:14:01.300 --> 00:14:04.180 Facebook and Google still takes you to 00:14:04.180 --> 00:14:06.460 the most repulsive Holocaust denial 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:09.850 sites sites with a simple click one of 00:14:09.850 --> 00:14:12.520 the heads of Google in fact told me that 00:14:12.520 --> 00:14:16.030 these sites just show both sides of the 00:14:16.030 --> 00:14:18.970 issue this is madness 00:14:18.970 --> 00:14:22.090 to quote Edward r murrow one cannot 00:14:22.090 --> 00:14:24.850 accept that there are on every story to 00:14:24.850 --> 00:14:27.540 equal and logical sides to an argument 00:14:27.540 --> 00:14:31.090 we have unfortunately millions of pieces 00:14:31.090 --> 00:14:33.900 of evidence for the Holocaust it is an 00:14:33.900 --> 00:14:37.330 historical fact and denying it is not 00:14:37.330 --> 00:14:39.910 some random opinion those who deny the 00:14:39.910 --> 00:14:45.120 Holocaust aim to encourage another one 00:14:50.339 --> 00:14:53.519 still zugerberg says that people should 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:55.829 decide what is credible not tech 00:14:55.829 --> 00:14:59.040 companies but our time when two-thirds 00:14:59.040 --> 00:15:00.720 of Millennials say that they haven't 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.269 even heard of Auschwitz how are they 00:15:03.269 --> 00:15:06.360 supposed to know what's credible how are 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:09.839 they supposed to know that the lie is a 00:15:09.839 --> 00:15:13.019 lie there is such a thing as objective 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:16.980 truth facts do exist and if these 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:19.139 Internet companies really want to make a 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:21.389 difference they should hire enough 00:15:21.389 --> 00:15:24.420 monitors to actually monitor work 00:15:24.420 --> 00:15:26.939 closely with groups like the ADL and the 00:15:26.939 --> 00:15:28.160 n-double-a-cp 00:15:28.160 --> 00:15:32.399 insist on facts and purge these lies and 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:36.410 conspiracies from their platforms 00:15:40.040 --> 00:15:43.640 now v when discussing the difficulty of 00:15:43.640 --> 00:15:46.820 removing content Zuka berg mark 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:47.360 zuckerberg 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.980 asked where do you draw the line yes 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:55.130 drawing the line can be difficult but 00:15:55.130 --> 00:15:57.500 here's what he's really saying removing 00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:59.660 more of these lies and conspiracies is 00:15:59.660 --> 00:16:03.350 just too expensive these are the richest 00:16:03.350 --> 00:16:05.780 companies in the world and they have the 00:16:05.780 --> 00:16:07.850 best engineers in the world they could 00:16:07.850 --> 00:16:10.060 fix these problems if they wanted to 00:16:10.060 --> 00:16:14.330 Twitter could deploy an algorithm to 00:16:14.330 --> 00:16:16.280 remove more white supremacist hate 00:16:16.280 --> 00:16:19.010 speech but they have reportedly haven't 00:16:19.010 --> 00:16:21.410 because it would eject some very 00:16:21.410 --> 00:16:23.570 prominent politicians from their 00:16:23.570 --> 00:16:26.750 platform maybe that wouldn't be such a 00:16:26.750 --> 00:16:28.990 bad thing 00:16:34.689 --> 00:16:38.569 the truth is these companies won't 00:16:38.569 --> 00:16:40.369 fundamentally change because their 00:16:40.369 --> 00:16:43.039 entire business model relies on 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:46.489 generating more engagement and nothing 00:16:46.489 --> 00:16:49.459 generates more engagement than lies fear 00:16:49.459 --> 00:16:50.689 and outrage 00:16:50.689 --> 00:16:52.729 so it's time to finally call these 00:16:52.729 --> 00:16:54.559 companies what they really are the 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:57.769 largest publishers in history so here's 00:16:57.769 --> 00:17:00.589 an idea for them abide by basic 00:17:00.589 --> 00:17:02.869 standards and practices just like 00:17:02.869 --> 00:17:05.628 newspapers magazines and TV news do 00:17:05.628 --> 00:17:08.929 everyday we have standards and practices 00:17:08.929 --> 00:17:11.388 in television and the movies there are 00:17:11.388 --> 00:17:14.419 certain things we cannot say or do in 00:17:14.419 --> 00:17:16.638 England I was told that alley G could 00:17:16.638 --> 00:17:19.148 not curse when he appeared before 9 p.m. 00:17:19.148 --> 00:17:22.279 here in the US the Motion Picture 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:24.859 Association of America regulates and 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:27.559 rates what we see I've had scenes in my 00:17:27.559 --> 00:17:30.110 movies cut or reduced to abide by those 00:17:30.110 --> 00:17:32.480 standards now if there are standards and 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:34.850 practices for what cinemas and 00:17:34.850 --> 00:17:37.210 television channels can show then surely 00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:40.009 companies that publish material to 00:17:40.009 --> 00:17:41.690 billions of people should have to abide 00:17:41.690 --> 00:17:45.309 basic standards and practices to 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:52.600 take now take the issue of political ads 00:17:52.600 --> 00:17:55.870 on which facebook have been resolute 00:17:55.870 --> 00:17:58.630 fortunately Twitter finally banned them 00:17:58.630 --> 00:18:01.270 and Google today I read is making 00:18:01.270 --> 00:18:05.350 changes to but if you pay them Facebook 00:18:05.350 --> 00:18:09.070 will run any political ad you want even 00:18:09.070 --> 00:18:12.310 if it's a lie and they'll even help you 00:18:12.310 --> 00:18:14.920 micro target those lies to their users 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:18.730 for maximum effect under this twisted 00:18:18.730 --> 00:18:21.330 logic if Facebook were around in the 00:18:21.330 --> 00:18:24.640 1930s it would have allowed Hitler to 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.550 post 30-second ads on his solution to 00:18:27.550 --> 00:18:30.340 the Jewish problem so here's a good 00:18:30.340 --> 00:18:35.050 standard and practice Facebook start 00:18:35.050 --> 00:18:38.200 fact-checking political ads before you 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:41.380 run them stop micro-targeted lies 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:44.200 immediately and when the ads of false 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:46.630 give back the money and don't publish 00:18:46.630 --> 00:18:48.870 them 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:59.289 here's another good practice slow down 00:18:59.289 --> 00:19:02.090 every single post does not need to be 00:19:02.090 --> 00:19:04.700 published immediately Oscar Wilde once 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:07.610 said we live in an age when unnecessary 00:19:07.610 --> 00:19:13.460 things are our only necessity but but 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:15.440 let me ask you is having every thought 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:19.039 or video posted instantly online even if 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:22.220 it's racist or criminal murderous really 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:25.909 a necessity of course not the shooter 00:19:25.909 --> 00:19:28.179 who massacred Muslims in New Zealand 00:19:28.179 --> 00:19:31.519 live streamed his atrocity on Facebook 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:33.769 where it then spread across the internet 00:19:33.769 --> 00:19:36.380 and was viewed likely millions of times 00:19:36.380 --> 00:19:38.870 it was a snuff film 00:19:38.870 --> 00:19:42.919 brought to you by social media why can't 00:19:42.919 --> 00:19:45.019 we have more of a delay so that this 00:19:45.019 --> 00:19:48.200 trauma inducing filth can be caught and 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:50.929 stopped before it's posted in the first 00:19:50.929 --> 00:19:53.230 place 00:19:56.470 --> 00:19:59.389 finally Zuckerberg said that social 00:19:59.389 --> 00:20:02.679 media companies should live up to their 00:20:02.679 --> 00:20:06.080 responsibilities but he's totally silent 00:20:06.080 --> 00:20:08.529 about what should happen when they don't 00:20:08.529 --> 00:20:12.710 by now it's pretty clear they cannot be 00:20:12.710 --> 00:20:13.399 trusted 00:20:13.399 --> 00:20:16.159 to regulate themselves as with the 00:20:16.159 --> 00:20:18.019 Industrial Revolution it's time for 00:20:18.019 --> 00:20:21.080 regulation and legislation to curb the 00:20:21.080 --> 00:20:26.019 greed of these high-tech robber barons 00:20:28.930 --> 00:20:33.010 in in every other industry a company can 00:20:33.010 --> 00:20:35.170 be held liable when their product is 00:20:35.170 --> 00:20:36.040 defective 00:20:36.040 --> 00:20:38.520 when engines explode or seat belts 00:20:38.520 --> 00:20:42.430 malfunction car company's recalled tens 00:20:42.430 --> 00:20:44.950 of thousands of vehicles at a cost of 00:20:44.950 --> 00:20:47.650 billions of dollars it only seems fair 00:20:47.650 --> 00:20:49.780 to say to Facebook YouTube and Twitter 00:20:49.780 --> 00:20:53.470 your product is defective you are 00:20:53.470 --> 00:20:56.680 obliged to fix it no matter how much it 00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:59.559 costs and no matter how many moderators 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:09.970 you need to employ in every under in 00:21:09.970 --> 00:21:12.910 entry in every other industry you can be 00:21:12.910 --> 00:21:16.000 sued for the harm you caused publishers 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.730 can be sued for libel people can be sued 00:21:18.730 --> 00:21:21.990 for defamation I've been sued many times 00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:27.220 I'm being sued right now by someone 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:29.440 whose name I won't mention because he 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:32.710 might see me again but social media 00:21:32.710 --> 00:21:36.070 companies are largely protected from 00:21:36.070 --> 00:21:37.929 liability for the content their users 00:21:37.929 --> 00:21:41.260 post no matter how indecent it is by 00:21:41.260 --> 00:21:43.870 section 230 F get ready for it the 00:21:43.870 --> 00:21:48.510 Communications Decency Act it's absurd 00:21:48.510 --> 00:21:51.250 fortunately internet companies can now 00:21:51.250 --> 00:21:53.800 be held responsible for pedophiles who 00:21:53.800 --> 00:21:56.830 use their site to target children so I 00:21:56.830 --> 00:21:59.290 say let's also hold these companies 00:21:59.290 --> 00:22:02.020 responsible for those who use their 00:22:02.020 --> 00:22:05.320 sites to advocate for the mass murder of 00:22:05.320 --> 00:22:07.390 children because of their race or 00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:09.570 religion 00:22:11.610 --> 00:22:18.070 and maybe fines are not enough maybe 00:22:18.070 --> 00:22:21.760 it's time to tell Mark Zuckerberg and 00:22:21.760 --> 00:22:25.000 the CEOs of these companies you already 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:27.970 allowed one foreign power to interfere 00:22:27.970 --> 00:22:29.320 in our elections 00:22:29.320 --> 00:22:32.980 you already facilitated one genocide in 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:38.280 the anime do it again and you go to jail 00:22:42.540 --> 00:22:46.120 in the end it all comes down to what 00:22:46.120 --> 00:22:49.440 kind of world we want in his speech 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.580 Zuckerberg said that one of his main 00:22:51.580 --> 00:22:56.050 goals is to uphold as wide a definition 00:22:56.050 --> 00:22:58.570 of freedom of expression as possible it 00:22:58.570 --> 00:22:59.440 sounds good 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:03.130 yeah our freedoms are not only an end in 00:23:03.130 --> 00:23:05.590 themselves they're also the means to 00:23:05.590 --> 00:23:08.500 another end as you say here in the US 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:11.350 the right to life liberty and the 00:23:11.350 --> 00:23:14.260 pursuit of happiness but today these 00:23:14.260 --> 00:23:16.560 rights are threatened by hate 00:23:16.560 --> 00:23:19.840 conspiracies and lies so allow me to 00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:22.210 leave you with a suggestion for a 00:23:22.210 --> 00:23:25.540 different aim for society the ultimate 00:23:25.540 --> 00:23:28.360 aim of society should be to make sure 00:23:28.360 --> 00:23:31.300 that people are not targeted not 00:23:31.300 --> 00:23:34.630 harassed and not murdered because of who 00:23:34.630 --> 00:23:37.330 they are where they come from who they 00:23:37.330 --> 00:23:40.830 love or how they pray 00:23:54.350 --> 00:23:58.610 if we make that our aim if we prioritize 00:23:58.610 --> 00:24:02.200 truth over lies tolerance over prejudice 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:05.720 empathy over indifference and experts 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:10.430 over ignoramus --is then maybe just 00:24:10.430 --> 00:24:13.520 maybe we can stop the greatest 00:24:13.520 --> 00:24:16.370 propaganda machine in history we can 00:24:16.370 --> 00:24:19.460 save democracy we can still have a place 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:22.220 for free speech and free expression and 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:25.760 most importantly my jokes will still 00:24:25.760 --> 00:24:27.870 work thank you very much 00:24:27.870 --> 00:00:00.000 [Applause]