Daniel Ex, head of Spotify, announced if the new alert would redirect users to the coronavir facts data center.
Spotify has also published existing rules prohibiting the sharing of false information on the platform that could cause harm.
He told the Spotify website that “it has become clear to us that we have a duty to do more to ensure balance and access to widely accepted information from the medical and scientific communities that is leading us in this unprecedented time.”
Ex said Spotify on Sunday released its guidelines for creators on what content is considered unacceptable. These rules were developed by Spotify together with experts and are regularly updated.
The rules state that content creators must avoid content that “promotes dangerously false or dangerously misleading medical information that could cause harm (..) or pose a direct threat to public health”.
Among other things, claims that Covid-19 or other diseases are not real and that people are deliberately encouraged to become infected with the coronavirus in order to develop immunity should be avoided.
Content that violates the rules may be removed from the platform and, in the event of repeated violations, the account may be closed.
The Spotify platform has recently made headlines in connection with podcast author Joe Rogan, whose last year’s show was Spotify. However, Rogan is widely criticized for interviewing alternative right-wingers, rhetoric against vaccines and face masks. He has also encouraged the use of the anthelmintic drug ivermectin for coronavirus, although studies have not shown it to be effective, but it is known to be dangerous to humans.
According to media reports, Spotify paid $ 100 million (€ 89 million) in 2020 for the podcast rights to The Joe Rogan Experience.
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American rock star Neil Young a week ago publicly accused Spotify of “spreading false information about vaccines, potentially leading to the deaths of people who believe in the misinformation they spread.”
Young told the platform to choose between him and Rogan, and Spotify gave up Young’s music.
In solidarity with Yang, Canadian singer Johnny Mitchell also announced a boycott of Spotify.
British prince Harry and his wife, American actress Megan Mark, have also expressed concern about Spotify’s misinformation, but will continue to work with the platform.
In early January, a group of doctors, scientists and healthcare professionals signed an open letter to Spotify expressing concern about Rogan’s podcasts discussing Covid-19.
