Sacha Baron Cohen just called out the ‘Silicon Six,’ a group of American billionaires that he says ‘care more about boosting their share price than protecting democracy’

• Actor and comedia Sacha Baron Cohen spoke at the Anti-Defamation League on Thursday about hate speech, anti-Semitism, and violence.
• Cohen was particularly critical of big tech and social media, which he called “the greatest propaganda machine in history.”
• He also called out the “Silicon Six,” American tech billionaires that he says “care more about boosting their share price than about protecting democracy.”
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During a 25-minute speech at the Anti-Defamation League on Thursday, actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen tore into Mark Zuckerberg, but he didn’t limit himself to criticizing the Facebook CEO. He also called out the “Silicon Six,” American billionaires that include Zuckerberg along with Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Susan Wojcicki, and Jack Dorsey.

Cohen said that these executives from Facebook, Google, YouTube, and Twitter control what information the world has access to. They “care more about boosting their share price than about protecting democracy,” Cohen said.

“This is ideological imperialism – six unelected individuals in Silicon Valley imposing their vision on the rest of the world, unaccountable to any government and acting like they’re above the reach of law,” he continued. “It’s like we’re living in the Roman Empire, and Mark Zuckerberg is Caesar. At least that would explain his haircut.”

The ADL has called on big tech before to address hate speech online, and in October Facebook COO Sheryl pledged $2.5 million to the organization.

Watch Sacha Baron Cohen's full speech here.