If the kind of people gobbling up COVID-19 misinformation could read, they wouldn’t be gobbling up COVID-19 misinformation. That’s the problem at the core of Spotify’s response to criticism over promoting COVID-19 misinformation on their platform. Neil Young removed his music from Spotify over the music and podcast publishing service stood by the misinformation about COVID-19 and climate change spread by Joe Rogan. Rogan recently had noted misogynist Jordan Peterson on his show, where they discussed climate change as only two people who don’t understand climate change could (with a “word salad of nonsense”). Even Spotify employees discussed their discomfort in carrying Rogan’s podcast.
Now Spotify has a new band-aid, and it’s managed to please no one. In fact, it might actually upset everyone. Who’s it for? Perhaps for uneasy shareholders? After all, when Young announced his departure from the platform, Spotify lost billions in value. But will upsetting the pro-COVID crowd with a warning, and upsetting the anti-COVID crowd by carrying the misinformation really be enough to trick investors?
Maybe a little?
Spotify’s New Rules
Spotify says they’ll add a “content advisory” to the episodes of podcasts discussing COVID-19. The podcasts can exaggerate, providing misinformation, without reaching Spotify’s threshold for removal. The rules basically state that you can’t say COVID-19 is a hoax, you can’t tell listeners to drink bleach to cure themselves, you can’t say the vaccines are designed to cause death, and you can’t tell people to intentionally get COVID-19 to build up an immunity.
Obviously there’s a lot left out here. Podcasters can still lie about the “dangers” of vaccines, give them fake “cures” like horse dewormer or feminizing drugs, and otherwise scare them into unsafe practices. Spotify won’t remove the offending content that could lead to serious harm and death, instead allowing it to continue to spread on their platform.
But, hey, there’s a warning now. It’ll direct you to other podcasts. Even their warnings have to push the product! Heaven forbid they just did something to save lives.
Not that this will.
It’s Not Enough
Obviously this isn’t enough. The cognitive dissonance it takes to hear facts presented by doctors and take the advice of a brain addled reality TV show “star” and “comedian” instead means you’re clearly not going to take the warning at face value. These warnings have been all over COVID-19 misinformation, from Twitter, to Facebook, and even YouTube. None of that has stopped these people from buying into crazy conspiracies and dangerous “treatments” with little to no improvement in prognosis. You cannot use reason to reach someone who is without reason. The only way to combat misinformation is to ban it from every corner of the internet.
Spotify took meaningless action here. They tried to mollify their critics with a pointless gesture. We already know these warnings don’t work. The only thing it might do is rile up some of the people listening to Joe Rogan’s podcast, who will absolutely continue to do so. They’ll even buy into his lunacy more. What Spotify—and everyone else—has to do is ban dangerous misinformation outright. Remove Rogan’s offending podcasts. It might even be all of them. Good.
The home of Neil Young.
Listen to his entire catalog on Apple Music: https://t.co/sUGtz4JbB9 pic.twitter.com/YgRMygUqhi
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) January 28, 2022
Until then, you can cancel Spotify and easily transfer your playlists to other services using apps like Songshift. I did just that when I switched to Apple Music over how poorly Spotify pays artists. Besides, if you leave Spotify, you get to listen to Neil Young.
Spotify lost billions in value, a few artists’ music, and likely users, all to defend one idiot’s misinformation podcast. I wonder if it was worth it.