Joe Rogan apologizes for Spotify COVID malpractice controversy

Joe Rogan apologizes after sharing a flurry of criticism over misinformation on his podcast exclusively on Spotify, saw the company lose nearly $ 4 billion in market value last week and urged them to release internal rules which determines what content is allowed on his program and not. service.

“If I made you angry, I’m sorry,” Rogan said in an almost 10-minute podcast episode and video titled “Hello Friends” that was posted on the platform on Monday.

Rogan said the “podcast was accused of spreading dangerous misinformation,” citing two episodes: one with Peter McCullough, a cardiologist, and another with Robert Malone, a medical doctor and infectious disease researcher.

Malone was recently suspended from Twitter for spreading misinformation and referring to an unfounded theory in the episode that suggests millions of people have been “hypnotized” to believe mainstream ideas about COVID-19, including steps to combat it such as testing and vaccination.

“They have an opinion that differs from the mainstream narrative,” Rogan said.

Epidemiologists, both in Canada and abroad, have long advocated for COVID-19 vaccines as an effective tool to prevent serious infection and death from the virus. To date, more than 30 million Canadians have received two doses.

While Rogan apparently accepts the criticism he receives, he said he was “interested in having interesting conversations with people who have different opinions,” and defended the credentials of the guests.

However, the controversy surrounding Rogan did not begin with these two guests.

When Rogan tested positive for COVID-19 last September, he said he received ivermectin, a medication used to treat neglected tropical diseases in people such as river blindness and scabies. It does not cure COVID-19, according to the latest science.

And last August, Rogan falsely claims that mRNA vaccines are “gene therapy”.

In his apology episode, Rogan also thanked his listeners who enjoyed his podcast, saying he would “strive hard afterwards to get people with different opinions” and “do my best to make sure I cover these topics, the controversial in particular, and have all the relevant facts at hand before I discuss them. ”

Spotify share jumped 13 percent Monday afternoon after news of Rogan’s apology.

Spotify on Sunday released internal rules that determine what content is allowed on its service and not, and CEO Daniel Elk said in a blog post that the company will add advice to any podcast episode that addresses COVID-19.

“We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression, while balancing it with the safety of our users,” Elk wrote.

“We’ve had rules in place for many years, but we were conceded, we were not transparent about the policies that guide our content more broadly,” says Elk’s post.

The platform said it would also begin testing ways to highlight their platform rules in their creator and publisher roles to “raise awareness of what is acceptable and help creators understand their accountability.”

Last week, folk singers Neil Young and Joni Mitchell took their music off Spotify in protest against Rogan, who hosted several outspoken skeptics about the COVID-19 vaccines. Both Young and Mitchell suffered from polio as children, and their reprimand from Spotify followed an open letter from more than 200 medical professionals to criticize the company.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are the latest high-profile figures to expose misinformation spread across the platform. The couple has a podcast agreement with Spotify under their Archewell Audio brand.

“Last April, our co-founders began expressing concern to our partners at Spotify about the all-too-real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform,” an Archewell spokesman said in a statement. “We have continued to express our concern to Spotify to ensure that changes are made to its platform to address this public health crisis.

“We are looking at Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does.”