Spotify said it is adding a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes discussions about COVID-19. The advisory will direct listeners to a COVID-19 hub that will include links to credible sources, the company said.
Spotify will also publicly post its long-standing platform rules for the first time, which were originally developed by its internal team.
“These are the rules of the road to guide all of our creators – those we work with exclusively, whose work is shared across multiple platforms,” CEO and co-founder Daniel Eck said in a statement.
A growing list of musicians and personalities have called on Spotify to ask Neil Young and then Joni Mitchell to take their music off the stage.
Spotify exclusively hosts the popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience” on COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation
“It has become clear to me that we have an obligation to provide balance and access to widely accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time,” Eck said.
Nils Lofgren, who was part of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Crazy Horse, also announced that he is removing his music from Spotify and calling on all “musicians, artists and music lovers” to support healthcare professionals. Encouraged to cut ties with the platform.
“We are looking to Spotify to meet this moment and we are committed to continuing our work together,” the spokesperson said. The statement did not specifically mention Rogan’s show.
Is banning those spreading misinformation effective?
On Sunday’s Credible Sources, CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter asked if there must be a more realistic way to approach this “weird-ban mole.”
Culture writer Kat Rosenfield likened rogan to a “weed growing outside of mainstream media.” Even if the host is removed, she said, her fans will still listen to her and there will be no dent in the spread of her message. And those fans still won’t trust mainstream news sources.
“People are fundamentally angry about not being able to stop their audience from wanting bad news for them,” Rosenfeld said.
He said the fundamental question is whether Rogan’s listeners will seek more reliable information if the host is fired from Spotify.
One said the statement contained “a lot of individuals and views” that he strongly disagrees with on stage.
“It’s important to me that we don’t take the position of being content censors, while also making sure there are rules and consequences for those who violate them,” one said.
CNN’s Max Foster, Vasco Cottovio and Rob Pichetta contributed to this report.
,