Spotify announces plans to flag Covid misinformation in podcasts

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(Pocket-lint) – Last week Spotify pulled Neil Young’s music from its platform after the signer demanded the company remove Joe Rogan’s podcast from its catalogue.

Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and others have removed their music from Spotify while others are also protesting that the company continues to allow misinformation on the streaming service. The main focus has been the Joe Rogan podcasts which have had interviews with vaccine skeptics and included misinformation as a result.

Now, Spotify has announced that it is posting its long-standing platform rules so that the rules are clear to everyone and is also adding a content notice to any podcast episode that includes a discussion of COVID-19.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek explained why the company doesn’t take the “…content censor position” while keeping people informed:

“We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users. In this role, it’s important to me that we don’t take the position of content censor while ensuring that there are rules in place and consequences for those who break them.”

The bottom line here is that these creators will always be free to express their views while, if those views include a discussion of COVID-19, there will be tagging to direct listeners to the dedicated COVID-19 hub of Spotify. This hub is said to be a resource of facts based on data and the latest information from “scientists, doctors, academics and public health authorities around the world”.

So the content remains, but at least the listeners can also stay clearly informed.

Written by Adrian Willings.