Spotify has announced that it will not be censoring Joe Rogan amid his ”COVID misinformation” controversy.
The controversy was first sparked when Rogan hosted infamous virologist Robert Malone. Oddly, Insider describes Malone as an “anti-vaxxer” despite having devoted his career to vaccine research. Malone is a highly credentialed doctor who owns at least 9 patents related to mRNA vaccine technology.
Malone however, is skeptical specifically of the COVID-19 vaccine. When Malone went public with his viewpoints he was ostracized by the scientific community. Rogan said that Malone had an opinion that was not mainstream, and he wanted to hear it.
In a statement to employees, Spotify Technology SA Chief Executive Daniel Ek said, “I think it’s important you’re aware that we’ve had conversations with Joe and his team about some of the content in his show, including his history of using some racially insensitive language.”
Paired with the existing alleged misinformation controversy, a compilation of podcast clips where Rogan had used the ‘N’-word was also released. Rogan explained that the compilation “looked f——-g horrible, even to me.” Rogan explained that the clips are out of context.
Rogan used the word on his podcast and elsewhere not in a derogatory fashion, or directed at any individual but rather when the word came up in conversation. Rather than saying “the ‘N’-word” Rogan would just say it.
Daniel Ek’s statement continued, “Following these discussions and his own reflections, he chose to remove a number of episodes from Spotify. He also issued his own apology over the weekend.”
Ek explained that he agrees with Rogan’s choice to remove content, but does not believe censorship is the answer. “While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more. And I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.”
Rogan has unfortunately caved to the woke mob under the stress of the controversy. Hopefully, this will not change the way Rogan conducts himself in the future.
Spotify has proven to be a big tech company resilient to the pressures of the mob. Spotify appears to have taken a stand against censorship.
