Neil Young has reportedly demanded that his music be removed from Spotify over vaccine misinformation shared on Joe Rogan’s popular podcast through the streaming service.
“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Young, 76, said in an open letter to his manager and record label that was posted to his Neil Young Archives website on Monday, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
Rogan, known for his contrarian and often baseless views on medicine, has faced widespread backlash for questioning vaccine safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
NBC News has not seen the original post and it is unclear why it was removed from Young’s website. A link to the original post labeled “A-Message-To-Spotify,” currently leads to a blank page. A representative for Young did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment.
In the letter, the Canadian-American singer said he wanted his manager and record label “to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform.”
He said he was “doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” Rolling Stone reported.
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The “Heart of Gold” singer made clear that he was specifically referring to ‘The Joe Rogan Experience,’ which is Spotify’s most popular podcast at the moment. Rogan signed a $100 million deal last year giving the streaming service exclusive rights to the show.
“With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE, which is hosted exclusively on Spotify…has tremendous influence,” Young said. “Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform.”
Demanding that his music be taken off the platform, he said: “Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.”
As of 7 a.m. ET Tuesday morning, Young’s music was still accessible on Spotify.
Both Spotify and Joe Rogan did not immediately respond to overnight requests for comment from NBC News.
Young is not alone in condemning Rogan’s show over vaccine misinformation.
Last month, around 270 doctors, researchers and other healthcare professionals signed an open letter demanding that Spotify introduce a policy on misinformation, specifically citing Rogan’s “concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine,” the letter said.
“By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals,” it said.
The letter’s authors specifically took issue with an interview Rogan held with doctor Robert Malone, who said Americans had been “hypnotized” into wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
In an April 2021 episode, Rogan also appeared to discourage young people from getting vaccinated.
The podcaster also appeared to promote the use of ivermectin to combat Covid-19 back in September after saying he was using the widely discredited drug himself after testing positive for the virus. The drug is typically used on livestock and health experts have urged the public to avoid using it to treat Covid-19.
Rogan has said that he isn’t “an anti-vax person” and that he should not be the source of medical advice, as he isn’t a doctor. He has also previously said he believes his comments were blown out of proportion.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
