Spotify's CEO & Joe Rogan Just Responded To All The Boycotts Around COVID Misinformation

Spotify is making changes to the way it deals with COVID discussions — although it won't be directly interfering with Joe Rogan's controversial podcast.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed the outrage against the platform on Sunday, after Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and others challenged the streamer to do something about COVID misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience. That also followed a petition from hundreds of doctors urging the platform to crack down on misinformation on Rogan's show.

"We’ve heard you – especially those from the medical and scientific communities," Ek wrote in a new blog post, before listing off how he plans to deal with the outcry.

He says that Spotify has had misinformation standards in place for years, but the company will now make those rules available to the public.

Ek also vowed to start putting a content advisory on any podcast episode where the pandemic, COVID-19 and vaccines are to be discussed, and that includes The Joe Rogan Experience.

"This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources," Ek wrote.

Rogan also responded to the backlash against him on Instagram. He applauded Spotify for adding the disclaimer and said he regrets that people are upset with him, but he also claimed to simply be asking questions.

"The podcast has been accused of spreading dangerous misinformation, specifically about two episodes," he says in the video. Rogan then insisted that he likes to talk to people with diverse viewpoints, although he also promised to try and "balance things out" more in the future.

"I'm not interested in only talking to people that have one perspective. I'm interested in finding out what is correct and also finding out how people come to these conclusions and also what the facts are," he said.

Rogan is Spotify's biggest star after signing an estimated $100-million deal to exclusively air his podcast on the platform.

However, he's also upset the medical community by discouraging young people from getting vaccinated, promoting the drug ivermectin as an unproven COVID-19 treatment and hosting guests such as virologist Robert Malone.

Malone was previously banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, and his appearance on Rogan's show also prompted the angry letter from doctors.

Neil Young and Joni Mitchell recently gave Spotify a "him or us" ultimatum over Rogan's show, and the streamer responded by saying goodbye to both of them.

Spotify now says it will begin testing ways to highlight its rules in order to raise awareness and help creators maintain accountability for the content they post on the platform.

"This is in addition to the terms that creators and publishers agree to governing their use of our services," added Spotify's CEO.