How Much Longer Can Spotify Back Joe Rogan?

1A

NPR

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

Joe Rogan and Spotify came under fire again last week.

In response to the aftermath of an interview Rogan did with a doctor that spread falsehoods and misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine, Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek wrote that he doesn't want to "take on the position of being content censor."

However, over the weekend, the company removed some 70 episodes where Rogan used racist language. Despite this, the company is standing its ground to keep its $100 million dollar contract with the comedian in tact.

Where does Spotify draw the line on content moderation? And how much longer can it claim to remain neutral?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	What is Mike from Albuquerque, New Mexico?
0:10.6	So I did cancel my Spotify over the Joe Rogan News.
0:16.6	It's not just about the COVID misinformation.
0:19.6	It's just, I think he has bad guests.
0:23.0	I think that there are people that could do much better.
0:26.7	So to me, this isn't about misinformation versus facts.
0:32.2	It's simply a boycott.
0:34.0	The backlash is still growing against Spotify and its most popular podcasts, the Joe Rogan
0:39.0	experience.
0:40.3	In a recent statement, Spotify's CEO, Daniel Eck, made it clear that he doesn't want to
0:45.4	quote, take on the position of being content censor, end quote.
0:49.8	That was in response to criticism of an interview Rogan did with the doctor who spread falsehoods
0:54.2	and misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.
0:57.7	Then over the weekend, things got even more complicated.
1:01.3	Spotify quietly deleted over 100 episodes of Rogan's podcast, according to JREMISSING.com.
1:07.4	That's a missing episode tracker.
1:09.4	The mass removal came after a video mashup surfaced of Rogan using the N word and sharing
1:14.2	racist views.
1:15.8	The decision to remove the content reportedly came from Rogan himself.
1:19.6	Meanwhile, Spotify is refusing to sever his $100 million contract.
1:24.1	So where does Spotify draw the line on content moderation?
1:27.9	And with that amount of money on the table, what responsibility does Spotify have to step
	...

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