Joe Rogan podcast: Spotify announces new rules for Covid-19 misinformation after controversy over Joe Rogan's podcast. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express) Spotify has said it will show an advisory and warning for content around Covid-19 after the controversy around podcaster Joe Rogan’s presence on the platform. The music streaming giant has lost billions in value over letting Rogan, a popular podcaster on the platform who is against Covid-19 vaccines, continue on the platform. The company has, however, deleted around 42 episodes by Rogan over misinformation around Covid-19 and vaccination.
Meanwhile, artists like Neil Young have pulled their music from Spotify over allowing Rogan to continue on the platform, while Joni Mitchell has also threatened to do the same.
The platform’s new advisory will direct listeners to a dedicated Covid-19 Hub, “which is a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world.” It will also include links to trusted sources. Spotify will start rolling this out to countries around the world in the coming days.
Other platforms such as Facebook Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter already have advisories and resources for Covid-19 vaccines and information around the disease. In February last year, Facebook had said it would remove all misinformation around Covid-19 vaccines, their safety and their side effects. It had revealed it removed nearly 12 million pieces of Covid-19 misinformation between March and October 2020, while marking around 167 million pieces of content with a warning label in relation to Covid-19 misinformation between the same period. In September 2021, YouTube had said it would block all anti-vaccine content.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek explained the new rules in a blog post. Ek also said “there are plenty of individuals and views on Spotify that I disagree with strongly,” but admitted that they want to support “creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users.”
He also stressed that Spotify does not wish to censor such content, “while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.” He added that the company has not been “been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly,” which has led to questions around serious issues such as Covid-19. As part of the ongoing debate, Spotify is publishing its long-standing Platform Rules, which have not been made public so far.
This combination photo shows Neil Young in Calabasas, Calif., on May 18, 2016, left, and UFC announcer and podcaster Joe Rogan before a UFC on FOX 5 event in Seattle, Dec. 7, 2012. (AP) “These policies were developed by our internal team in concert with a number of outside experts and are updated regularly to reflect the changing safety landscape. These are rules of the road to guide all of our creators—from those we work with exclusively to those whose work is shared across multiple platforms,” Ek wrote.
“We will also begin testing ways to highlight our Platform Rules in our creator and publisher tools to raise awareness around what’s acceptable and help creators understand their accountability for the content they post on our platform,” he said.
Ek also stressed that Spotify has been active since the first days of the pandemic when it comes to providing “educational resources and campaigns to raise awareness”. “We donated ad inventory to various organisations for vaccine awareness, funds to the World Health Organization and COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) to increase vaccine equity and supported the Go Give One fundraising campaign,” Ek added.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
