Spotify reportedly has a really restricted set of COVID content material pointers | Engadget

When Spotify began eradicating Neil Young’s playlist from its service, it defended its practices towards misinformation and mentioned that it had already pulled over 20,000 COVID-related podcast episodes. Young threatened to take away his catalog from the service over allegations that Joe Rogan is spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation by his podcast. Despite what Spotify mentioned, The Joe Rogan Experience remains to be obtainable on the platform, and Spotify’s COVID content material coverage (as seen by The Verge) would possibly be capable to clarify why that is the case. 

Apparently, even Spotify’s workers are upset with the corporate’s partnership with Rogan because of his views on COVID-19. Company head of world communications Dustee Jenkins reportedly addressed these considerations on Spotify’s Slack and advised workers {that a} crew had already reviewed a number of controversial Joe Rogan Experience episodes and located that they “didn’t meet the threshold for removal.” She known as members of the crew who did the interior evaluation “some of the best experts in the space” and likewise mentioned that Spotify is working with third events to assist it evolve its insurance policies. “What Spotify hasn’t done is move fast enough to share these policies externally, and are working to address that as soon as possible,” she added. 

While Spotify has but to share these insurance policies, The Verge posted a replica of the healthcare pointers part, which prohibits:

“Content that promotes harmful false or misleading content material about healthcare that will trigger offline hurt and/or pose a direct risk to public well being comparable to:

Denying the existence of AIDS or COVID-19

Encouraging the deliberate contracting of a critical or life threatening illness or sickness

Suggesting that consuming bleach can remedy varied sicknesses and illnesses

Suggesting that sporting a masks will trigger the wearer imminent, life-threatening bodily hurt

Promoting or suggesting that the vaccines are designed to trigger demise”

There’s rather a lot podcasters can get away with with such a slim and restricted algorithm. In comparability, YouTube makes it clear that any content material with claims that contradict native well being authorities or WHO is prohibited on its web site. It’s not simply solutions that sporting a masks will trigger hurt that is prohibited on the Google-owned service, but additionally claims that masking doesn’t assist forestall the contraction or transmission of COVID-19. A podcast host on Spotify can say the latter with out repercussions. Spotify additionally would not have a rule prohibiting claims that ivermectin is a secure and efficient therapy for the virus. 

Back in December, a bunch of scientists and docs despatched an open letter to Spotify, asking it to implement a misinformation coverage after Rogan guested Dr. Robert Malone on his present. In the controversial episode, Malone claimed folks solely imagine that COVID-19 vaccines are efficient because of “mass formation psychosis.” The group additionally listed a number of “misleading and false claims” Rogan made on his podcast all through the pandemic, together with the time he mentioned mRNA vaccines are “gene therapy” and one other when he promoted using ivermectin to deal with COVID-19.