By: Kaira Karmakar
The Hub of Controversy
As the centre of COVID-19 misinformation and racial slurs, the Joe Rogan Experience has developed controversy regarding whether or not Spotify should remove the podcaster from the music platform. Due to this, Spotify has been shaken in recent weeks as an exclusive deal of $100 million was signed to the comedian by Spotify.
As a result of promoting misinformation, many prominent musicians and podcasters have left Spotify to protest against Rogan’s controversial history.
The emergence for much of the controversy regarding Joe Rogan was an episode published in December; a three-hour-long interview featuring Dr. Malone, a controversial infectious-disease researcher and vaccine sceptic. Discussions of theories and assertions regarding the pandemic and vaccines that took place in the episode were later cited as promoting ‘several falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines’ by several health officers and professors.
Spotify’s Response
Despite the public outcry, Spotify will not cancel Joe Rogan. The company decided to maintain ties with Rogan, which suggests their stance on the podcasters they wish to hold. With estimations that Rogan’s podcast reaches 11 million listeners per episode, claims regarding Spotify’s care for profits over reputation have been made explicitly clear by crisis consultant Steven Fink.
Spotify CEO Daniel Elk does ‘not believe that silencing Joe is the answer’ yet criticised Rogan for spreading misinformation and racism. Consequently, the company published its "platform rules and approach to COVID-19" on its website to refrain from the spread of misinformation regarding COVID-19.
Joe Rogan’s Response
Along with calls for boycotts, Rogan responded with an apology for his previous use of racial slurs and took down a staggering number of 70 episodes of his podcast without explanation.
"I'm not trying to promote misinformation, I'm not trying to be controversial," said Rogan previously on an Instagram video. However, past instances seem to show otherwise. For instance, Rogan stated in his episode, ‘But time has shown that Sweden actually had a more effective take on the virus.’
This information is misleading. Sweden, unlike many other European countries, did not initiate full-scale lockdowns, however did have limitations for gatherings and social distance requirements. Moreover, with Sweden’s death rate due to COVID-19 being the highest in Scandinavia, the country certainly has not been as effective as its neighbours. Hence, stating that Sweden has had an ‘effective take on the virus’ is factually incorrect.
Despite many apology videos by Rogan, the public still criticises Spotify's decision to maintain ties with the podcaster. However, with Spotify’s new policies to ensure that misinformation is not spread on the platform, the public has less to worry about regarding the Joe Rogan controversy situation.
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