Tag: spotify

Spotify reserves the right to limit reach of “misinformation”

Spotify is highlighting its rules around censorship, taking a leaf out of the book of other tech giants who like to find a way to limit speech that their rules don’t actually “outlaw.”

According to Spotify, the content the reach of which it can now decide to restrict is that which “touches” on what are described as sensitive topics – even though this content “does not cross the threshold which would require removal under our Platform Rules.”

Reports supportive of this new policy say that it came in response to the reaction, outside and inside Spotify, to Joe Rogan’s podcast, specifically an episode that looked into the safety and usefulness of Covid vaccines.

The episode produced outrage, amplified by the “friendly” media, branding Rogan as a peddler of misinformation, and agitating musician Neil Young so much that he presented Spotify with an ultimatum: either have him or Rogan on the platform. (Spotify chose Rogan).

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Spotify Purges Dissident Voices In Latest Censorship Escalation

Multiple American podcasters who speak critically of the political status quo in their country are reporting that their channels have been shut down as the censorship campaign against Russia-backed media continues to escalate. These include Moment of Clarity with Lee Camp, The Politics of Survival with Tara Reade, and By Any Means Necessary on Radio Sputnik.

“My podcast ‘Moment of Clarity’ has been removed from Spotify,” Camp tweeted Wednesday. “Let it be known – you can do anti-women, anti-trans or racist content on Spotify but you can’t be anti-war. That’s not allowed.”

“Without explanation or notice, Spotify has removed By Any Means Necessary from their platform, but we’re not going anywhere!” said the program’s Twitter account. “There’s a clear effort in motion to suppress anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist voices, join us in the fight by spreading the word!”

“You can still find my podcast on other platforms even though Spotify inexplicably removed it,” tweeted Reade.

This comes as Spotify closes its office in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

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White House Recommends Spotify Do More to Censor Joe Rogan

The White House indicated Tuesday that Spotify’s attempts to address what they described as coronavirus “misinformation” on podcaster Joe Rogan’s interviews was not a strong enough response to the freedom of speech controversy.

Spotify announced a decision Sunday to include content advisory warnings on Rogan’s interviews about the coronavirus pandemic with sources dissenting from the government narrative about the virus.

“It’s a positive step but more can be done,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during the daily briefing on Tuesday.

Spotify acted to address the situation after musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell asked the company to remove their music from their platform as part of a protest of Rogan’s interviews.

But Psaki called on technology and media platforms to do more to censor what she described as “misinformation” about the virus.

“That certinaly includes Spotifly (sic) she said, mispronouncing the tech platform’s name.

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Fake News: Spotify Hasn’t Lost $2 Billion Because Of Neil Young

A slew of reports claiming that Spotify has had $2 billion wiped off its market value because of the actions of Neil Young and others in opposing Joe Rogan’s content on the platform are fake news.

Variety and others ran headlines over the weekend like “Spotify Lost More Than $2 Billion in Market Value After Neil Young Pulled His Music Over Joe Rogan’s Podcast.”

As pointed out by many on social media, however, the drop in value of Spotify stock is part of a longer downward trend that started before Neil Young uttered a word about Rogan.

Indeed, Spotify’s stock has actually increased in value since the Neil Young driven backlash.

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W.H.O. Chief Backs Neil Young Against Joe Rogan: Demands End to ‘Infodemic’

The globalist World Health Organization (W.H.O.) announced Thursday it sided with left-wing rocker Neil Young in his stand-off with podcaster Joe Rogan and streaming giant Spotify.

The move came after Spotify said it would pull the singer’s work from its platform following his demand the company either remove his music or blacklist Joe Rogan and his popular podcast.

W.H.O. chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has now entered the fray. He announced he backed the veteran musician and thanked him for “standing up against misinformation and inaccuracies” around Covid vaccinations before stressing “we all have a role to play to end this pandemic and infodemic.”

“@NeilYoungNYA, thanks for standing up against misinformation and inaccuracies around #COVID19 vaccination,” Tedros tweeted.

“Public and private sector, in particular #socialmedia platforms, media, individuals — we all have a role to play to end this pandemic and infodemic.”

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Neil Young’s Attempt to Pressure Spotify to Censor Joe Rogan Fails Miserably

Musician Neil Young’s attempt to force Spotify to censor Joe Rogan’s podcast has failed miserably, with Young deleting the open letter he posted on his website.

The 70’s rocker tried to give Spotify an ultimatum that they had to remove Rogan or delete his music catalogue.

Young accused Spotify of “spreading fake information about vaccines” because Rogan dares to have in depth discussions with esteemed doctors who don’t blindly follow the COVID narrative.

“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” he wrote. “Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.”

“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he added. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”

While Young may have got some traction on Twitter from the usual crowd of COVID bedwetters and censorship freaks, his efforts have proven completely futile.

Indeed, Spotify is yet to even offer an official response to his public relations stunt.

The singer-songwriter appears to have already backed out of the ultimatum given that he deleted the open letter he had posted to his website.

“Young likely realized that he has no grounds to make the demands. Rogan has an exclusive deal with Spotify and Young sold 50% of the rights to his music to a British investment company a year ago,” writes Christina Maas.

Neil Young’s public hissy fit merely appears to have been a play for attention given that he, like Howard Stern, who also routinely attacks Rogan, is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Specifically, Rogan enjoys an average of over 11 million listeners per episode, with some hitting as high as 40 million, while Young attracts 6 million listeners per month in comparison.

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