Previous Joe Rogan Guest Blames Podcaster for Helping Create 'Politically Shattered' Society: 'Talks to Guys Who Lie as Freely as They Breathe'
"It would be very simple to do a better job," Sam Harris said.
A former friend and podcast guest of Joe Rogan critiqued the influential podcaster, accusing him of contributing to the "politically shattered" society by providing a platform for misinformation.
"Joe is a genuinely good guy who wants good things for people," Sam Harris said, "but he is honestly in over his head on so many topics of great consequence."
Harris, an author, neuroscientist and philosopher, is a longtime friend of Rogan, though in recent years, the men have had a falling out—reportedly due to differing opinions on vaccinations. In the most recent episode of his own podcast, "Making Sense," Harris expounded on the present political climate, indicting Rogan as partially response, even if inadvertently.
Harris took particular aim at Rogan's casual handling of sensitive subjects on his show, amplifying fringe voices without challenging the narratives presented by his guests. He cited comedian Dave Smith as an example, who he called a "pure misinformation artist," who Rogan "treated as an expert on Israel and Palestine."
"The only reason anyone knows what Dave Smith thinks about any of this is very likely because Joe had him on multiple times," Harris noted.
Harris also accused Rogan of actively helping to shape disinformation.
"When Joe talks to someone like Trump or Tucker Carlson or any of these other guys who lie as freely as they breathe, and doesn't push back against any of their lies and doesn't push back against any of their lies—in fact, in Trump's case he really energetically helped to put his lies into the most plausible possible shape—it is irresponsible. It is directly harmful."
While Harris stressed that he doesn't believe Rogan is entirely at fault, he urged the podcast host to take greater editorial responsibility.
"A lot of this is inadvertent, or maybe all of it is inadvertent," Harris said. "But it also is avoidable."
"It would be very simple to do a better job," he emphasized.
Harris concluded that Rogan's massive platform carries real-world consequences: "Our society is as politically shattered as it is, in part, because of how Joe has interacted with information."
Clips of Harris' discourse have begun circulating social media. In response, Smith pushed back on Harris' assertions by calling out Harris' own influential connections.
"Sam's correct. The only reason that anybody even knows who I am is because of Joe Rogan. I should have earned it the old fashioned way: by having my mother create the Golden Girls," Smith wrote in a tweet. "F***ing clown."
Originally published on Latin Times
