Robert Iger with Mickie Mouse. Iger was being honored by an organization that “confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations.”
Accepting an award from the Jewish Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Disney chairman attacked social media.
“Hitler would have loved social media. It’s the most powerful marketing tool an extremist could ever hope for because by design social media reflects a narrow worldview filtering out anything that challenges our beliefs while constantly validating our convictions and amplifying our deepest fears.”
“It creates a false sense that everyone shares the same opinion. Social media allows evil to prey on troubled minds and lost souls, and we all know that social news feeds can contain more fiction than fact, propagating vile ideology that has no place in a civil society that values human life.”
“In the last few years, we have been harshly reminded that hate takes many forms, sometimes disguising itself as more socially acceptable expression like fear or resentment or contempt,” Iger said during his speech at the Beverly Hilton. “It is consuming our public discourse and shaping our country and culture into something that is wholly unrecognizable to those of us who still believe in civility, human rights and basic decency.”
Iger said US leaders “must offer a plan for progress that works for all of us and does not include leaving millions behind. “