![]() When Rogan’s podcast and library of episodes moved from YouTube to Spotify exclusively, the company erased dozens of episodes from his archive. The Spotify CEO reportedly told employees the service takes no editorial responsibility for Rogan’s content because it doesn’t own “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, it merely distributes it. “This is not only a scientific or medical concern,” they wrote, “it is a sociological issue of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform.” Last month, hundreds of scientists, doctors, nurses and other health professionals posted an open letter to Spotify urging it to take action against “the mass-misinformation events” on its platform. Who conducted the studies? Rogan didn’t ask.Ĭardiologist Peter McCullough’s preposterous lies on Rogan’s show include claiming the pandemic was planned, that COVID-19 vaccines are experimental, that previously infected people have “permanent immunity,” and that thousands of people have died from vaccine side effects. Malone told Rogan that “good modeling studies” have shown that “probably half a million excess deaths have happened in the United States” because the government blocked the use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine in COVID patients. Over three-plus hours, listeners heard a lot of talk about dark conspiracies between government, media and pharmaceutical companies, anecdotes promoting unproven COVID remedies and wildly incorrect information about how a state in India “crushed” COVID. Last week, I listened to quite a bit of Rogan’s interview with Robert Malone, a molecular virologist and vaccine contrarian who has outraged the scientific community with his conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID treatments. But pretending to simply ask questions - when he is in fact allowing his guests to undermine the public trust in science - is disingenuous. It is true, as Rogan pointed out in his video, that statements that might once have gotten someone kicked off social media are now tolerated. And Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who also have a Spotify deal, issued a statement expressing their concern about “COVID-19 misinformation.” Brené Brown, who signed an exclusive deal with Spotify in 2020, has stopped posting new content. Writer-podcasters Roxane Gay and Mary Trump have left the platform. Young was soon followed by Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and India Arie. Young made the move to protest Rogan’s embrace of guests who mislead listeners about the pandemic and vaccines. Rogan has an estimated 11 million listeners per episode and a licensing agreement reportedly worth $100 million with Spotify, which was put on the defensive last month after Neil Young yanked his music off the streaming service. Who’d have guessed a lack of preparation could pay off so well? “Oftentimes, I have no idea what I’m gonna talk about till I sit down and talk with people,” Rogan said. His rambling interviews can run four hours or more. Last week, in a video explaining why he interviews scientists who spout misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines, he described his podcast as “some out-of-control juggernaut that I barely have control over.” My only consolation is that Rogan doesn’t appear to, either. I’ll be the first to admit, I do not understand the popularity of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
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