London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Nov 06, 2025

Sacha Baron Cohen just slammed Facebook for being a home for conspiracy theories that could 'kill democracy as we know it'

Sacha Baron Cohen just slammed Facebook for being a home for conspiracy theories that could 'kill democracy as we know it'

The "Borat" actor wrote that President Donald Trump has an ally in Facebook, calling the company "the greatest propaganda machine in history."
Actor Sacha Baron Cohen in an op-ed for Time Magazine called for an end to the proliferation of conspiracy theories on social media platforms — and the actor zeroed in on Facebook specifically.

The actor slammed the company for the role it has played in misinformation spreading online, calling out Facebook's algorithm that is designed to promote content that more people find interesting. Cohen also called Facebook out for its refusal to fact-check political ads and remove misleading posts.

The actor pointed out that conspiracy theories are more easily spread during times of uncertainty.

"Donald Trump - who averages 23 lies a day and is the world's greatest superspreader of coronavirus conspiracies -has caught the virus himself. He has a dutiful ally in Facebook - the greatest propaganda machine in history. And this is a time when Americans are especially vulnerable to lies and conspiracies. This trifecta has created a whirlwind of conspiratorial madness," Cohen wrote in the op-ed.

Cohen's damning remarks come as the 2020 presidential election looms just weeks away and as social media sites continue to grapple with policing disinformation on their platforms. Facebook has been in the spotlight specifically for giving QAnon networks a platform. The baseless far-right conspiracy theory spouts the claim that President Trump is secretly fighting a "deep state" group of human traffickers. Its scores of supporters found a home on Facebook up until Tuesday when the company said it was banning QAnon from its platform.

This isn't the first time Cohen has come out as a staunch opponent of Facebook. The actor slammed the company - and other Silicon Valley giants - in late 2019 for what he says is the firm's failure to stop the spread of lies and hate speech.

In January of this year, the actor attacked Zuckerberg in a Twitter post, calling the CEO out for a series of political ads the firm allowed to run on the site that a Guardian investigation found to be riddled with disinformation. "Mark Zuckerberg, history will judge you harshly - if we still have historians after you help destroy democracy," Cohen wrote in the tweet.

Zuckerberg said he does not wish Facebook to be an "arbiter of truth" after Twitter opted to attach a warning label to a tweet posted by President Donald Trump in which he falsely stated that "there is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent."

Facebook's reputation has been tarnished since its handling of user data came to light in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as well as its involvement in the 2016 presidential election. The social media firm has rolled out a series of moves leading up to this year's election in an effort to stunt the spread of misinformation on the platform.

In September, Zuckerberg said Facebook would start labeling posts from candidates that declare victory before the official results can be counted. With the influx of mail-in ballots, it's possible that the nation will not know the election results until after November 3. Facebook also announced it would attach a label to content that touches on the "legitimacy of voting methods, for example, by claiming that lawful methods of voting will lead to fraud." President Donald Trump has peddled claims that mail-in voting will lead to election fraud.

The social media firm has also announced that it would not accept political ads starting the day after the election.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Pre-Budget Blues and Rate-Cut Concerns Pile Pressure on Pound
ITV Warns of Nine-Per-Cent Drop in Q4 Advertising Revenue Amid Budget Uncertainty
National Grid Posts Slightly Stronger-Than-Expected Half-Year Profit as Regulatory Investments Drive Growth
UK Business Lobby Urges Reeves to Break Tax Pledges and Build Fiscal Headroom
UK to Launch Consultation on Stablecoin Regulation on November 10
UK Savers Rush to Withdraw Pension Cash Ahead of Budget Amid Tax-Change Fears
Massive Spoilers Emerge from MAFS UK 2025: Couple Swaps, Dating App Leaks and Reunion Bombshells
Kurdish-led Crime Network Operates UK Mini-Marts to Exploit Migrants and Sell Illicit Goods
UK Income Tax Hike Could Trigger £1 Billion Cut to Scotland’s Budget, Warns Finance Secretary
Tommy Robinson Acquitted of Terror-related Charge After Phone PIN Dispute
Boris Johnson Condemns Western Support for Hamas at Jewish Community Conference
HII Welcomes UK’s Westley Group to Strengthen AUKUS Submarine Supply Chain
Tragedy in Serbia: Coach Mladen Žižović Collapses During Match and Dies at 44
Diplo Says He Dated Katy Perry — and Justin Trudeau
Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Vice President, Dies at 84
Trump Calls Title Removal of Andrew ‘Tragic Situation’ Amid Royal Fallout
UK Bonds Rally as Chancellor Reeves Briefs Markets Ahead of November Budget
UK Report Backs Generational Smoking Ban Ahead of Tobacco & Vapes Bill Review
UK’s Domino’s Pizza Group Reports Modest Like-for-Like Sales Growth in Q3
UK Supplies Additional Storm Shadow Missiles to Ukraine as Trump Alleges Russian Underground Nuclear Tests
High-Profile Broodmare Puca Sells for Five Million Dollars at Fasig-Tipton ‘Night of the Stars’
Wilt Chamberlain’s One-of-a-Kind ‘Searcher 1’ Supercar Heads to Auction
Erling Haaland’s Remarkable Run: 13 Premier League Goals in 10 Matches and Eyes on History
UK Labour Peer Warns of Emerging ‘Constituency for Hating Jews’ in Britain
UK Home Secretary Admits Loss of Border Control, Warns Public Trust at Risk
President Trump Expresses Sympathy for UK Royal Family After Title Stripping of Prince Andrew
Former Prince Andrew to Lose His Last Military Title as King Charles Moves to End His Public Role
King Charles Relocates Andrew to Sandringham Estate and Strips Titles Amid Epstein Fallout
Two Arrested After Mass Stabbing on UK Train Leaves Ten Hospitalised
Glamour UK Says ‘Stay Mad Jo x’ After Really Big Rowling Backlash
Former Prince Prince Andrew Faces Possible U.S. Congressional Appearance Over Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry
UK Faces £20 Billion Productivity Shortfall as Brexit’s Impact Deepens
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Eyes New Council-Tax Bands for High-Value Homes
UK Braces for Major Storm with Snow, Heavy Rain and Winds as High as 769 Miles Wide
U.S. Secures Key Southeast Asia Agreements to Reshape Rare Earth Supply Chains
US and China Agree One-Year Trade Truce After Trump-Xi Talks
BYD Profit Falls 33 % as Chinese EV Maker Doubles Down on Overseas Markets
US Philanthropists Shift Hundreds of Millions to UK to Evade Regulatory Uncertainty in Trump Era
Israeli Energy Minister Delays $35 Billion Gas Export Agreement with Egypt
King Charles Strips Prince Andrew of Titles and Royal Residence
Trump–Putin Budapest Summit Cancelled After Moscow Memo Raises Conditions for Ukraine Talks
Amazon Shares Soar 11% as Cloud Business Hits Fastest Growth Since 2022
Credit Markets Flooded with More Than $200 Billion of AI-Linked Debt Issuance
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Says China Made 'a Real Mistake' by Threatening Rare-Earth Exports
Report Claims Nearly Two Billion Dollars in Foreign Charity Funds Flowed into U.S. Advocacy Groups
White House Refutes Reports That US Targeting Military Sites in Venezuela
Meta Seeks Dismissal of Strike 3’s $350 Million Copyright Lawsuit
Apple Exceeds Forecasts With $102.5 Billion Q3 Revenue Despite iPhone Miss
Israel's IDF Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi Admits to Act Amounting to Aiding Hamas During Wartime (Treason)
Shawbrook IPO Marks London’s Biggest UK Listing in Two Years
×