You probably remember a few months ago when you couldn't check the news, chat with your conservative uncle, or even use a social networking site, because you couldn't discuss the issue of Joe Rogan, who is signed to an exclusive deal with Spotify worth more than $200 million. In January, 270 physicians and scientists wrote an open letter to Spotify demanding that it institute misinformation policies in light of Rogan's show, which has served as a platform for false narratives. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their libraries from the platform in protest. Two months after it committed to launching the feature, it finally rolled out a content advisory warning on the podcasts.
The blue bar on the top of the episodes of the podcasts that discuss COVID-19 is an advisory. The COVID-19 information hub was added in March 2020. It appears that the advisory shows up if the words "COVID-19" or "coronaviruses" are used. It's not clear why it took two months to implement if it's just aMetadata Scan, since the content in the COVID-19 hub had already beencurated.
The spread of COVID-19 misinformation was brought to the attention of social platforms. Just days after the U.S. began to be locked down, the social media site banned any posts that could help spread the disease. The coronaviruses advisory warning was released two months later. Competing streaming services don't have these warnings, but Apple Podcasts doesn't fund people who talk to right-wing conspiracy theorists for fun.
The backlash did little to boost its rivals, despite its PR nightmare. Other platforms have begun to chip away at the lead of Spotify.
The Spotify-Rogan saga highlights the distinction between publishers and platforms
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