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Rogan: ‘Woke’ Left Wants Censorship Because The Right Got Good At Social Media

[Screenshot/YouTube/Joe Rogan Experience]

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
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Podcast giant Joe Rogan said the “woke” political left wants censorship because the right has regained power on social media.

Rogan said the left began promoting censorship after social media platforms, particularly Twitter, became the main tool for “influential right-wing people.” He argued that the left “got really into” the phenomenon of “silencing dissenting opinions” of those on both sides of the aisle that challenge its views.

“They silenced those guys. They pulled those guys off of social media and they found that it was effective to do that,” Rogan said. “And then it became a thing that they got really into. They got really into silencing dissenting opinions and it’s gone so far that they’re doing it to left-wing people that step even remotely outside the bounds of the orthodoxy, that’s outside the bounds of what they consider to be a rigid, of maintaining this ideology. They step outside of that, they silence people.”

Rogan’s guest, columnist and instructor Ben Burgis, argued that the political right is “pro-censorship.” Rogan agreed that both sides enjoy silencing opposing views, adding that “oppressing speech” and silencing opposing ideas is a “dangerous road to go down.”

“The answer to bad ideas is not silencing those ideas, it’s better ideas,” Rogan said. “That’s my position, and that’s an old school liberal position. But that doesn’t exist that much in the left-wing of today.” (RELATED: ‘We Stand With You’: Rumble CEO Offers Joe Rogan $100 Million For His Episodes) 

Burgis said it is “dangerous” and “short-sighted” for the left to silence dissent. He said this is caused by people feeling powerless on relevant issues. So they target people’s language and views to feel as if they “won something.”

Rogan has been subjected to attempted censorship of activists, particularly on the left, after released footage found that he repeatedly used the n-word and over his interview with a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic. In the midst of the backlash, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek confirmed in February that Rogan’s episodes will not be removed from the platform.

After releasing the interview with Dr. Robert Malone, the vaccine skeptic, a group of 270 doctors urged Spotify in an open letter to to implement a COVID-19 misinformation policy, calling Malone’s statements on vaccines “medically and culturally dangerous.” Rogan threatened to sever his $200 million contract with Spotify if they restrict him on his podcast.