“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.”
QUICK FACTS:
- Podcaster Joe Rogan responded on Sunday to Spotify’s removal of Neil Young’s music from its platform in an Instagram post.
- “I’m not trying to promote misinformation, I’m not trying to be controversial,” Rogan said. “I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than to just talk to people.”
- Neil Young had accused Spotify of spreading of Covid-19 vaccine “misinformation” for hosting on its streaming service Rogan’s “The Joe Rogan Experience,” on which the podcaster had interviewed Dr. Robert Malone, inventor of the mRNA technology used in making coronavirus vaccines, and Dr. Peter McCullough, a nationally recognized and board-certified cardiologist.
- Doctors Malone and McCullough refute the mainstream narrative about Covid-19 and vaccines, drawing the ire of Young.
- Rogan noted that he also had sat down on the show with supporters of the mainstream narrative, too, including Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the chief medical correspondent for CNN, and Dr. Michael Osterholm, a member of Joe Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board.
- Mr. Rogan even went so far as to express admiration for Young’s work: “I’m very sorry that they feel that way. I most certainly don’t want that. I’m a Neil Young fan. I’ve always been a Neil Young fan,” Rogan said.
KEY QUOTE FROM ROGAN:
- “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,” Rogan said in the Instagram post.
- “Eight months ago, if you said if you get vaccinated you can still catch COVID and you can still spread COVID — you will be removed from social media … Now, that’s accepted as fact,” he said.
- “If you said ‘I don’t think cloth masks work’ you would be banned from social media. 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,” he said.
BACKGROUND:
- Rogan also admitted to being able to miss the mark, saying, “Do I get things wrong? Absolutely. I get things wrong, but I try to correct them,” he insisted.
- “I think if there’s anything that I’ve done, that I could do better is have more experts with differing opinions right after I have the controversial ones. I would most certainly be open to doing that,” he said, calling it a “pledge” to his viewers.
- The podcaster also expressed good will toward Young: “So no hard feelings towards Neil Young,” he repeated, while also thanking Spotify for sticking by him despite “taking so much heat.”
