A coalition of hundreds of doctors and public health experts have called out Spotify for allowing Joe Rogan to spread “false and societally harmful assertions” about coronavirus and vaccination on the streaming platform that hosts his wildly popular podcast.
In an open letter published Monday, more than 270 medical professionals urge Spotify to stop “enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance.” Rogan, whose show reaches an estimated audience of 11 million people an episode, has repeatedly downplayed the need for coronavirus vaccines and used his giant platform to flirt with misinformation about covid-19.
“Though Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, the company presently has no misinformation policy,” the group wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Rolling Stone this week. “Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine.”
While the coalition is not asking for Spotify to cancel “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the group is pushing for the company to do more to prevent further misinformation from spreading on what is considered the nation’s most popular podcast.
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