‘FRINGE IDEAS’

Hundreds of Doctors Demand Spotify Stop ‘Menace’ Joe Rogan From Pushing Anti-Vax Misinfo

Authors of an open letter to Spotify debunked misinformation touted by one guest who called the belief in vaccines a form of “psychosis.”

More than 200 medical and science professionals have called on Spotify to embrace a misinformation policy after comedian Joe Rogan hosted an anti-vaccine virologist on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the most popular podcast in the world. Using Rogan’s platform last month, Dr. Robert Malone spewed baseless and bizarre lies, blaming “mass formation psychosis” for belief in vaccination as a tool to prevent severe illness. The 3-hour episode went aggressively viral, being shared tens of thousands of times on Spotify alone. In response, 270 doctors, physicians, and science educators signed the open letter fact-checking Malone and demanding accountability from the streaming service, which bought exclusive streaming rights to The Joe Rogan Experience last year. One doctor who signed the letter called Rogan “a menace to public health.” Speaking to Rolling Stone, Dr. Katrine Wallace condemned platforming people like Malone. His claims “are fringe ideas not backed in science,” she said, “and having it on a huge platform makes it seem there are two sides to this issue. And there are really not. The overwhelming evidence is the vaccine works, and it is safe.”