Joe Rogan pledged more balance and better research for his podcast in an apology aimed at quelling growing controversy about misleading coronavirus information that plunged Spotify Technology SA into controversy last week.
“If I’ve p—-ed you off, I’m sorry,” Rogan said in an Instagram video, while also thanking listeners who have enjoyed his podcast. He said he would “try harder to get people with differing opinions on right afterward” and “do my best to make sure I have researched these topics, the controversial ones in particular, and have all the pertinent facts at hand before I discuss them.”
The comments come after Spotify published its existing rules governing content, and said it would add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19. The streaming giant has faced mounting pressure from some users and musicians concerned about the veracity of virus information being spread by the platform’s most popular podcaster.
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Shares in Spotify rose 4.6% to $180.99 in early trading. The shares had sunk 12% last week, wiping out $4 billion in market value, amid the Rogan controversy and broader turbulence in tech stocks.
Folk singers Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify last week in protest of Rogan, who has hosted several outspoken skeptics of the COVID-19 vaccines. The company created rules governing acceptable content on its service years ago and built a hub with coronavirus information early in the pandemic, but hadn’t made them public until Sunday.
“I want to thank Spotify for being so supportive during this time and I’m very sorry that this is happening to them and that they are taking so much heat from it,” Rogan said.
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—Bloomberg News
