“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 [Neil Young] 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 continued. “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.” Young is referencing the steady stream of misinformation about vaccines that Joe Rogan has peddled on The Joe Rogan Experience. Last month, 270 doctors, physicians, and science educators signed an open letter asking Spotify to stop spreading Rogan’s baseless claims.
The musician Neil Young has given the ultimatum to Spotify: Censor Rogan's misinformation or pull his music from Spotify. Spotify chose the former, likely due to the size discrepancy between Rogan's listeners and Young's. Me being a fan of Young aside, my opinion on these matters have been voiced slightly in class. I'm wholly in support of Young on these matters, Rogan has a responsibility as the largest podcaster (in the U.S. at least) to spread educated and beneficial information, considering the layout of the JRE is largely information/interview based. Spotify in turn has a responsibility to not support, financially or socially, dangerous misinformation.
The conversation has roots in Bioethics, in regards to the handling of the pandemic, though matters such as this bleed into more cultural and social spheres of our world. Should we expect public figures and corporations to be held accountable or even forced to cease misinforming the population? Furthermore, should more artists and activists follow in Young's protests, or are they fruitless or, worse, detrimental in themselves somehow?
I applaud Neil's initiative, placing truth above personal gain. But I also remember how lots of people, especially in this part of the country, have greeted progressive political statements in the past (not that vaccination in a pandemic ought to be political at all)... Remember that line in Sweet Home Alabama, about how a "southern man don't need ol' Neil around anyhow"?
ReplyDeleteI do not think Rogan has a responsibility to “spread educated and beneficial information”. IF anything, it is up to Spotify to be in control of the information. I am curious if other artists will pull their music in protest.
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