The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have aired their concerns about the COVID-19 misinformation being peddled on Spotify, the world's largest music streaming service provider, amid growing outcry over Joe Rogan’s show, which according to musicians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, promotes anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
On Wednesday, Spotify said it had the “great responsibility [of] balancing both safeties for listeners and freedom for creators” noting it had “removed over 20,000 COVID-19 related podcast episodes" since the start of the pandemic, The Guardian reported.
Meanwhile, Harry and Megan said they will remain “committed to continuing our work” with Spotify after the streaming giant’s CEO, Daniel Ek, further announced on Sunday that it would place content warnings on podcasts tackling COVID-19 as a renewed effort to combat misinformation.
Accordingly, the company said it will publish updated platform rules on the main website so creators are aware of what is acceptable.
"To our knowledge, this content advisory is the first of its kind by a major podcast platform," Spotify said in a news release, with the rollout of the new feature to begin in the next few days.
Shortly after their royal exit in 2020, the Sussexes inked a multi-year podcast partnership with Spotify and have only released at least one podcast episode, a “holiday special” in December 2020.
The Daily Beast noted that they first expressed concerns to Spotify about the prevalence of COVID misinformation last April, according to a spokesperson for the Archewell Foundation.
“Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation every day,” the spokesperson said. “Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all-too-real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform.”
“We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis. We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does,” they continued.
Meanwhile, Mitchell and Young have since pulled their catalogs from Spotify, according to The Verge. Their move was backed by the World Health Organization director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said: “We all have a role to play to end this pandemic and infodemic.”
Young pioneered the campaign against Rogan’s podcast when the Canadian-American musician demanded his music be removed from Spotify, saying, “I am happy and proud to stand in solidarity with the frontline health care workers who risk their lives every day to help others.”
On Saturday, Mitchell, who has 3.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify, also announced she would be removing her music from the platform.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” she said. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
Spotify acquired “The Joe Rogan Experience” in 2020 in a deal worth more than $100 million, making it its most popular podcast and one of the biggest in the world. Previously, Rogan got embroiled in controversies over his progressive views on COVID-19, vaccines, and government mandates.
Last month, at least 270 doctors, scientists, and healthcare professionals signed an open letter urging Spotify to act against the podcast as it promotes baseless conspiracy theories.
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