How ABC chair Kim Williams started war with Elon Musk, Joe Rogan
Australia’s national broadcaster is the latest target of Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk and podcaster Joe Rogan. See how it unfolded.
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Elon Musk is on the warpath against the Australian government.
Barely a day goes by without the world’s richest man – and perhaps its most powerful private citizen given his blossoming bromance with US President-elect Donald Trump – taking aim at everything from its social media age limits to its plans to tackle misinformation online.
Now, he has Australia’s taxpayer-funded public broadcaster in his sights, calling it “their Pravda” in an unflattering comparison to the Soviet Union’s state newspaper.
Mr Musk’s latest attack came in response to a rather extraordinary spray by ABC chairman Kim Williams at Joe Rogan, the world’s most popular podcaster who gave Mr Trump a major boost with a three-hour interview during the presidential election campaign.
Mr Williams, speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra this week, was asked how the ABC should be thinking about the huge audience of The Joe Rogan Experience.
It is the most popular podcast in Australia and the US, with men making up the bulk of its listeners.
“I am not a consumer or enthusiast about Mr Rogan and his work,” Mr Williams said.
“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.”
“I personally find it deeply repulsive to think that someone has such remarkable power … 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 entrepreneurs that are really quite malevolent.”
Mr Rogan – a comedian, actor and former TV host – offered an amused two-word response to his 14.2 million followers on Mr Musk’s social media platform X: “LOL WUT.”
Mr Musk shared his reply and added: “From the head of Australian government-funded media, their Pravda.”
The podcaster is something of a political chameleon, having supported far-left independent senator Bernie Sanders in his 2020 presidential run before endorsing Mr Trump this year.
It is unclear which of his libertarian views so offended Mr Williams, although Mr Rogan was criticised during the Covid pandemic for promoting misinformation.
The podcaster bonded with the former president over their shared love of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, with the pair seen at a bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden after Mr Trump’s election victory earlier this month, where they were also joined by Mr Musk.
He had sought to interview Vice President Kamala Harris during the campaign, although while her aides said she was willing to appear, she did not fit in a visit to his Texas studio – a decision some Democrats tied to her poor performance among young male voters.
Originally published as How ABC chair Kim Williams started war with Elon Musk, Joe Rogan
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