‘More can be done:’ White House steps in on Joe Rogan Spotify saga

Spotify’s latest attempt to quell the controversy around their unwavering support for Joe Rogan has earned criticism from the White House.

Controversy around Spotify’s unwavering support for Joe Rogan, 54, has continued to intensify, with the White House urging that “more can be done” to prevent the spread of health misinformation around Covid.

On Tuesday, the Swedish tech company announced they will add a “content advisory” on podcast episodes which mention Covid-19. However, the blanket disclaimer has been criticised for being too broad and will apply to content that supports pro and anti vaccine sentiment, as well as opinions from established medical professionals and commentators.

Despite the ongoing controversy, the podcast is still available to be streamed on Spotify. Picture: Cindy Ord/Getty Images.

When asked whether the Biden administration thought the move was “satisfactory”, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called out the Swedish streaming platform that owns the exclusive rights to The Joe Rogan Experience.

“Our hope is that all major tech platforms – and all major news sources, for that matter – be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as Covid-19,” she said on Monday.

“And that certainly includes Spotify.

“So, this disclaimer – it’s a positive step. But we want every platform to continue doing more to call out misinformation while also uplifting accurate information.

“Ultimately … our view is it’s a good step, it’s a positive step, but there’s more that can be done.”

Without reference Rogan specifically, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said ‘more can be done’ by platforms to minimise medical misinformation. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

Hosted by the UFC commenter and comedian, The Joe Rogan Experience has come under fire for spotlighting guests who support uncredited views on Covid related to vaccine-efficacy, the origins of Covid and the support of non-medically supported therapies like Ivermectin.

Rogan himself has also been a harsh critic of Covid-prevention measures like face masks and lockdowns, slamming Australia’s 2021 lockdown as “dystopian, police-state measures”.

While the series is undoubtedly controversial, it’s lucrative as well. Acquired by Spotify in a deal reported to be worth more than $A152 million in 2020, the series is the company’s most popular podcast and draws an estimated 11 million listeners per episode.

Rogan apologises (kind of)

Rogan’s response to the backlash however, has been to suggest that his most controversial podcast episodes were done in an attempt to have “a different opinion than those men do”.

“I think if there’s anything that I’ve done, that I could do better is have more experts with differing opinions right after I have the controversial ones. I would most certainly be open to doing that,” he said.

Apologising to Spotify in a 10-minute video posted to Instagram on Sunday night, Rogan said the controversy had turned into “some out-of-control juggernaut that I barely have control of”.

Rogan claims he wanted his podcast to share ‘differing opinions’, not spread misinformation. Picture: Carmen Mandato/ Getty

Despite this, he denied whether his content was actually responsible for spreading misinformation and said he wasn’t “trying to be controversial”.

“The problem I have with the term misinformation, especially today, is that many of the things that we thought of as misinformation just a short while ago are now accepted as fact,” he said.

“Eight months ago, if you said if you get vaccinated you can still catch Covid and you can still spread Covid you will be removed from social media … Now, that’s accepted as fact.”

Celebrities attack Rogan

In recent days, prominent musicians like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash have pulled their discography from the streaming platform.

“Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy,” he said.

“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”

The prolific singer-songwriter is himself a polio survivor – a disease which has been largely eradicated through large-spread vaccine coverage.

Most recently actress Sharon Stone has also taken aim at Rogan, criticising Spotify’s disclaimer for making Covid misinformation an “opinion-based situation”.

“He should put a disclaimer that he’s an a**hole and that his behaviour is dangerous,” Stone told TMZ.

“Infectious diseases are science and they are fact-based situations, so the pretence that these are opinions is dangerous and his behaviour is dangerous.”