More than 250 medical professionals have signed an open letter calling on Spotify to implement a misinformation policy on its platform, especially calling out the controversial Joe Rogan podcast.
‘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,’ the letter reads.
The particular episode in question was the one that aired on December 31 featuring Dr Robert Malone, an immunologist who claims to have created the mRNA technology.
However, Malone is now a vocal sceptic of the vaccines that use it.
Dr Malone is one of two recent guests on Rogan’s show who has compared pandemic policies to the Holocaust.
The letter was signed by a group of scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators spanning a wide range of fields such as microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, and neuroscience.
With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, The Joe Rogan Experience is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence.
The letter says that the episode is only one of the examples of Spotify’s failure to mitigate the damage it is causing.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly been criticised for spreading misleading and false claims and several unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.
‘This is not only a scientific or medical concern; it is a sociological issue of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform,’ the letter reads.
The controversial episode was uploaded (without the consent of Rogan or Spotify) to YouTube and Twitter where it was hastily pulled down.
The pandemic has led to social media companies taking an increasingly harder line on misinformation.
Twitter has begun labelling any tweets that may contain misleading information about Covid-19 vaccines and even banned figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green for spreading vaccine misinformation.
Google-owned YouTube has also taken a stance on Covid vaccine misinformation and anti-vax content, removing more than 1 million videos in 2021 related to Covid-19 misinformation.
However, just this week, in an open letter signed by 80 fact-checking organisations around the world, YouTube was made aware of its shortcomings in battling misinformation.
In the past, Spotify has taken down content for spreading Covid-19 misinformation, most notably removing podcaster Pete Evans from the service.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Spotify for comment.
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