Editor’s Note: Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author and editor of 24 books, including his forthcoming co-edited work, “Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Lies and Legends About Our Past” (Basic Books). Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.
CNN
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It’s time for tech and social media companies to take some responsibility for the content they are willing to house on their platforms.
At this week’s DealBook summit, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, said that the company would continue to allow the film – “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!” – to be sold on its site. This film has generated huge controversy for its antisemitic content promoting false claims about the reaches of Jewish power and the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust. Jassy justified the decision by saying, “we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable.”
Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving, however, paid the price for tweeting a link to the film last month. Though Irving eventually issued a full-throated apology, his failure to do so immediately and unequivocally led to a temporary suspension by the Nets and the suspension of his Nike sponsorship.
If the distribution and promotion of this hateful film was a one-time problem, we would not have cause for major concern. But it is not.
We have seen a number of platforms provide a home for bigotry over the past few months. Right now, the new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, has been removing controls that had prevented bigotry, rage and provocation from being spread by the site.
In the name of free speech, he has decided to pump out a daily dose of vile commentary on his personal account, reactivated the accounts of several controversial figures – including former President Donald Trump and conservative Canadian podcaster Jordan Peterson – and allowed bigotry and hate to proliferate across the platform. Invoking a false antisemitic trope about Jewish power, Musk recently tweeted that retired Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman, whose testimony was at the heart of Trump’s first impeachment, was “both puppet & puppeteer. Question is who pulls his…
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