Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos calls social media a "nuance-destructing machine"

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during a congressional antitrust hearing, said social media is a "nuance-destruction machine".

The CEO's comment was in response to a question posed by Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, who asked all four of the executives for their stance on so-called cancel culture, or the collective calling out or "cancelling" of a public figure following offensive comments or actions made by that person.

As part of his question, Jordan also cited the resignation of controversial New York Times editor Bari Weiss, who penned a letter upon her departure from the outlet in mid-July. Following widespread criticism against Weiss on Twitter from users as well as many of her NYT colleagues, the opinion editor resigned, citing in part the Times' culture of censoring centrist and conservative opinions.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg replied saying he and his company firmly believe in free expression, while Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed skepticism that the hard-and-fast "cancelling" of people online is always beneficial.

The hearing, a much-anticipated inquiry conducted by the House Judiciary's antitrust subcommittee, was designed to probe the CEOs of Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook over anticompetitive business practices that have contributed to the firms' monopoly over the market.

But the representatives at times veered from the topic, delving into such issues as user privacy, election interference, and, in Jordan's case, cancelling culture.