Spotify rolls out Covid disclosures after Joe Rogan boycott – Reuters

Spotify is rolling out a Covid content advice tab on podcasts and other content that mentions the coronavirus.

Spotify promised the feature, a small blue tab that directs to its Covid-19 news hub, nearly two months ago. It comes after a handful of musicians and creators boycotted the platform for its broadcast of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, which they say spread misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine.

Spotify said it started rolling out the feature to users on Feb. 2, but CNBC first spotted it in the app on Monday. The company hasn’t explained why this might not have been visible before, but software updates usually roll out over several weeks or months.

“On January 30, 2022, Spotify announced plans to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes discussion of COVID-19,” a spokesperson told CNBC. “Three days later, on February 2, we launched the content advisory on our platform and added it to episodes that include COVID-19 discussions on an ongoing basis ever since. Today, the COVID Content Notice appears on ~1.4 million podcast episodes on our platform. »

Host Joe Rogan has also been accused by medical professionals of repeatedly spreading conspiracy theories about Covid-19.

Spotify had been criticized for hosting the episodes. He bought exclusive streaming rights to ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast as part of a deal reportedly worth at least $200 million.

After the scandal, Spotify promised to add content advisories that would link users to public health resources. Rogan then praised the company’s decision but defended his booking of controversial guests.

“I’m not trying to promote misinformation, I’m not trying to be controversial,” Rogan said at the time. “I never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people. »

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