‘By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals,’ they said.

McCullough, vice chief of internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center, claimed the pandemic was deliberately planned, and that the vaccines were killing thousands of people.īy January 10, more than 250 doctors signed an open letter to Spotify, entitled: ‘A call from the global scientific and medical communities to implement a misinformation policy.’ Malone, who is one of the pioneers of mRNA vaccines, said official COVID figures are not to be trusted because hospitals get bonuses if patients have the virus and that the government was ‘out of control’ and suppressing data. Music legends Neil Young and Joni Mitchell were among singers to have their music removed from Spotify in protest of comments made by Rogan on his showĪlthough Rogan previously admitted he was not vaccinated and expressed doubts about the vaccine on his show in the past, he received widespread backlash after inviting anti-wax doctors Robert Malone and Peter McCullough in December.īoth men made controversial claims on the show, which has 11 million people tuning in every episode. Spotify and The Joe Rogen experience did not immediately respond to ’s request for comment. The company’s value has grown since acquiring Rogan’s show and moving into podcasting, with the company reporting $ 10.9 billion in profit at the end of 2021. When Spotify secured the show, the company’s stock went up by 17 percent that week. Yet despite the backlash, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek had told employees that exclusive content like Rogan’s show was ‘vital ammunition’ in Spotify’s competition against Apple and Google, so he will not be fired, the Times reported.Īlthough Spotify was primarily known for its music streaming services, the company began pivoting to podcasts in 2018 by purchasing smaller companies to get their hands on the growing market.Īcquiring The Joe Rogan Experience was a pivotal part of their plan due to Rogan’s popularity and freewheeling, uncensored talks with celebrities and people of interest. Artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and David Crosby have also pulled their music from the streaming service over the anti-vaccine comments made on Rogan’s show in December.

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