Spotify’s top podcast host Joe Rogan has been spreading false information about COVID-19 and, more specifically, its vaccines on his widely-listened to podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Among other things, Rogan has falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine will alter an individual’s genes and that young people are at a greater risk of health issues from receiving the vaccine than from actually contracting the virus.
Over the past two years, almost every social media platform has received criticism for how they have handled misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines. Platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook added interactive warning labels to posts that mention COVID-19 or its vaccines. These labels lead to a COVID-19 Information Center that provides facts about the virus and vaccines, and it directs users to follow recognized health organizations for more information.
Most major social media platforms have implemented explicit misinformation policies surrounding COVID-19. However, Spotify, which boasts over 165 million subscribers worldwide, has failed to do the same. Spotify has continued to let individuals release dangerous misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines without any warnings.
In an open letter to Spotify in January, a coalition of 270 doctors and public health experts urged the music streaming platform to stop “enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance.”
Despite this, Spotify has taken no action to indicate that these claims are false — a dangerous choice considering Rogan’s podcast is Spotify’s most-streamed one, reaching 11 million people each month.
In light of Spotify’s inaction, many musicians and podcast personalities have decided to remove their material from Spotify’s platform in protest. This movement was headlined by singer-songwriter Neil Young, who issued a statement demanding his music be removed from the platform, citing the platform’s part in undermining the fight against the virus. He claimed “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
While drastic, Young’s demands were met.
Within days of the release of Young’s letter, his entire discography was removed from the streaming platform. Soon after, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist, Nils Lofgren, followed suit, requesting their music be removed for the same reasons.
Doctors and public health experts had been pleading for the regulation of Rogan and his podcast since last April. Unfortunately, their words didn’t have the same result as Young’s action.
Young’s decision to remove his music from Spotify not only led others to do the same, but it also created a nationwide conversation around the pressing issue that was not receiving adequate attention.
The mass media attention surrounding this kind of misinformation and public pressure for Spotify to take action against it is encouraging. However, it’s concerning that when doctors and public health experts sent an open letter to the platform, there was little recognition from either Spotify or the media. The plea from doctors and public health officials, who have been on the front lines throughout the pandemic, should have elicited more response.
Although Young and the others who recognized the failed response from Spotify should be applauded for using their fame to bring attention to the issue, it should not go without recognition of the pleas from the health officials who came before them.
Since Young’s decision to remove his music became public, Spotify and Rogan have released responding statements. Rogan said that he would “try harder” to highlight people with differing viewpoints and work to make sure he has all the facts on an issue before discussing it. Spotify has announced that they plan to implement a content advisory to all podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19, similar to the warnings implemented months ago on Facebook and Instagram.
If one thing has become concerningly clear over the last two years, it is that millions of people have a hard time believing doctors and health experts. The individuals who have gone through years of schooling in the fields of public health and medicine have been ignored over and over again.
Additionally, for many who were at first skeptical of the pandemic, it only became real after actor Tom Hanks shared on Instagram that he and his wife had contracted the virus themselves. While health care workers were pleading for help in the background, Americans chose to verify their public health information through public figures instead. Similarly, the threat of misinformation on Spotify was only fully recognized by the public when Young initiated a boycott.
Health officials have done their best at warning and informing Americans of the risks of COVID-19, and they have been constantly disregarded and undermined by those forming and spreading their own opinions that contradict scientific evidence. Their voices must no longer be ignored. American’s must shift their focus away from celebrities to health experts on all matters of public health, no matter how well-meaning celebrity messages may seem.
Claire Schad is an Opinion Staff Writer. She can be reached at schadc@uci.edu.