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Spotify in hot water over Covid-19 misinformation

Spotify in hot water over Covid-19 misinformation
Russell Kidson

Russell Kidson

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The Joe Rogan Experience is a popular podcast hosted on Spotify that is now synonymous with misinformation and public outcry, as well as the rapid decline of the leading music and podcast streaming service. Rogan’s podcast in which he reportedly spread misinformation surrounding Covid-19 vaccinations and government mandates has hit Spotify hard, even resulting in trending hashtags #DeleteSpotify #SpotifyDeleted.

Rogan has since addressed the controversy with a 10-minute video posted to Instagram. He has promised to ‘balance things out’ by including a more diverse range of guests on his Spotify podcast. This will be done in an attempt to furnish his podcast with a greater variety of opinions and points of view. Joe Rogan placed considerable emphasis on wanting to merely find out what the truth about the vaccines and government mandates is. 

The mass outrage sparked by Rogan’s latest podcasts prompted major musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to pull their music from Spotify. The leading music streaming platform now reports a loss of more than $2 Billion in market value. In not taking down The Joe Rogan Experience podcast as a result of Young ending his contract with Spotify, the music streaming service is seen as siding with Rogan, even though it has committed to adding content advisories to any podcast episodes relating to the pandemic and vaccines and linking those posts to more authoritative and scientific sources on the matter. 

Embattled US private citizens and prominently controversial members of the British Royal Family Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are also on record as having expressed concerns to Spotify about its affiliation and support of Joe Rogan amidst the controversy. Spotify is yet to give in to mounting public pressure to remove the controversial podcast. 

While more musicians and notable podcast creators are rumored to be next in line to boycott Spotify, no concrete evidence exists to prove that Spotify is losing its strong foothold on the music streaming scene and remains one of the foremost music and podcast services in operation. 

Russell Kidson

Russell Kidson

I hail from the awe-inspiring beauty of South Africa. Born and raised in Pretoria, I've always had a deep interest in local history, particularly conflicts, architecture, and our country's rich past of being a plaything for European aristocracy. 'Tis an attempt at humor. My interest in history has since translated into hours at a time researching everything from the many reasons the Titanic sank (really, it's a wonder she ever left Belfast) to why Minecraft is such a feat of human technological accomplishment. I am an avid video gamer (Sims 4 definitely counts as video gaming, I checked) and particularly enjoy playing the part of a relatively benign overlord in Minecraft. I enjoy the diverse experiences gaming offers the player. Within the space of a few hours, a player can go from having a career as an interior decorator in Sims, to training as an archer under Niruin in Skyrim. I believe video games have so much more to teach humanity about community, kindness, and loyalty, and I enjoy the opportunity to bring concepts of the like into literary pieces.

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