One of the world’s biggest music streaming platforms, Spotify, has released a statement saying that it would put out Covid advisory notification on podcasts containing covid-19 information.
This move comes after a controversial statement by Neil Young, who earlier this week demanded the streaming platform drop any form of content that gives out false news on covid-19. This was set into play as Joe Rogan, the most popular podcaster, spread false information on covid-19 vaccines.
The Duke and the Duchess of Sussex have also raised concerns and made several demands to streaming platforms all over the world to scrutinize any form of new media content giving out unconfirmed or false information on vaccines and other health-related topics.
In a week’s time, the CEO of Spotify, Daniel Ek, stated that the company is working on adding a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion or a discourse about Covid-19.
He also stated that the advisory will help the listeners direct them to Covid-19 related talks and podcasts to gain easy and accurate information. He terms it as a Covid Hub, a hub that provides resources and up-to-date information on Covid-19 as well as links to trustful sources.
Ek said this will help combat misinformation and that the feature will be rolled out in the coming days.
Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster recently stated in his podcast that young people should not go for covid vaccination and should stick with anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to treat symptoms.
Spotify expressed regret on how such misinformation caused a big controversy but also stated that they need to have a balance between safety for listeners and freedom for the content creators.
Ek stated that the company will focus more on the safety of listeners due to the feedback it has received from the public. At a time of unprecedented health crisis, the company will have to prioritise information provided by the scientific and medical experts that guide us.
Other than Spotify, social media titans like Facebook and Youtube have also been criticized for allowing conspiracy theorists to express and influence views on the communities about the vaccine and the virus.
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