Rogan draws support, Spotify draws criticism after COVID drama
Support is still pouring in for Joe Rogan after Spotify caved to pressure from artists who demanded that the platform censor Rogan due to what they call “COVID-19 misinformation”.
Rogan made waves after hosting top medical experts on his show who challenged the mainstream COVID-19 narrative. These experts include Dr. Peter McCullough, one of history’s most published cardiologists, as well as Dr. Robert Malone, who was one of the architects of the mRNA technology that powers the COVID vaccine.
Spotify then announced that it would be issuing a “content advisory” to COVID-19 references on its platform, a move which drew criticism of its own.
“Well, well. They got to Spotify now,” wrote Dr. Malone on Telegram. “Only a matter of time at this point.”
“When I went on with Rogan I brought my laptop and went over my grand rounds slides,” tweeted Dr. McCullough. “Every point was cited and referenced either preprint (studies) or PUBMED. Spotify never contacted me for slides which are freely available to them to adjudicate with their doctors. Bring it on Spotify!”
Rogan also posted a video to his Instagram responding to the controversy. In the video, Rogan made it clear that he supported the decision by Spotify but cautioned against labeling things as “COVID-19 misinformation”.
“The problem I have with the term misinformation, especially today is that many of the things that we thought of as misinformation just a short while ago are now accepted as fact,” said Rogan. “Like, for instance, eight months ago, if you said, ‘if you get vaccinated, you can still catch COVID and you can still spread COVID,’ you’d be removed from social media, they would they would ban you from certain platforms. Now, that’s accepted as fact.
“If you said, I don’t think cloth masks work, you would be banned from social media,” Rogan continued. “Now that’s openly and repeatedly stated on CNN. If you said I think it’s possible that COVID-19 came from a lab, you’d be banned from many social media platforms – now that’s on the cover of Newsweek. All of those theories that at one point in time were banned, were openly discussed by those two men that I had on my podcast that had been accused of dangerous misinformation.”
While there are plenty of COVID-19 narrative devotees who want to censor Rogan, such as Joy Behar and Meghan Markle, support has been piling up for Rogan, most recently from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated,” Johnson commented on Rogan’s post. “Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you.”
“I’m triple vaxxed, but (unless they’re standing for hate or calling for violence) banning someone’s podcast is too much like burning a book to me,” said former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson. “Joe Rogan should talk on his podcast about whatever he damn well pleases.”
Inexplicably, support even came from some within the mainstream media.
“Joe Rogan is what he is. We in the media might want to spend more time thinking about why so many people trust him instead of us,” said New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg.
“I don’t mind that I disagree with him sometimes, enjoy long-form interviews with interesting people that not a lot of people do, am suspicious of motives for shutting him up, & am weirded out by how many people desire it,” CNN commentator Mary Katharine Ham said.
