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Controversial podcast host Joe Rogan has drawn the ire of health care professionals who accuse him of spreading COVID misinformation via his podcast. The allegations were made in an open letter to Spotify, which demanded that the platform adopt misinformation policies.
The open letter was signed by 270 doctors, professors, scientists, and medical professionals who claimed Joe Rogan repeatedly spread inaccurate and false claims on his podcast.
Their letter was explicitly concerning the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) episode posted on December 31, 2021. The episode featured controversial guest Dr. Robert Malone, who has been alleged to have spread inaccurate COVID-19 claims, for which he was banned on Twitter.
Joe Rogan has a history of platforming controversial statements about COVID-19
The open letter, co-authored by epidemiologist Dr. Jessica Malaty Rivera, claimed:
“Dr. Malone used the JRE platform to further promote numerous baseless claims, including several falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines.”
In episode #1757, Dr. Malone spoke about his controversial notion of “mass formation psychosis.” He theorized that millions of people had been hypnotized to believe in the efficacy of vaccines and the mainstream information about COVID protocols.
Dr. Malone was also the second guest to compare the theory with the ‘Holocaust.’ He claimed that Hitler employed the same technique in 1930s to gain power. The open letter called out Malone’s comments and mentioned,
“These actions are not only objectionable and offensive, but also medically and culturally dangerous.”
While the letter called for Spotify to adopt misinformation policies, it did not demand Rogan’s episode to be taken down. In contrast, YouTube has already removed a clip of the interview on a vague basis of violating community guidelines.
The letter is concerned with an influential person openly spreading misinformation
The open letter, signed by 270 medical field experts, acknowledged JRE’s popularity amongst youth. It stated that the average age of the podcast’s listeners is around 24 years and cited a study by Washington State about unvaccinated 12 to 34-year-olds.
As per the open letter, the study claimed that this age group of unvaccinated youth are 12 times more likely to be hospitalized over COVID-19 complications.
How the internet reacted
Several tweets supported Joe Rogan’s podcast, while few sided with the doctors who claimed it to be misinformation. The incident also spawned humorous and polarizing comments from both sides.
In April last year, the 54-year-old podcaster and former UFC commentator received backlash suggesting that younger listeners should not be vaccinated. In an episode of his JRE podcast, he said,
“But if you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I’ll go no.”
Spotify, which signed an exclusive deal with Joe Rogan in late 2020, has again found itself in the crosshairs of controversy over Rogan's latest statements and actions.
Several influential people reacted to Rogan’s comments and requested Spotify to take down the episode. However, at this moment, Spotify has not taken down the episode nor provided a reason for their response to the backlash.
