‘DIVERSE VOICES’

Spotify Defends Alex Jones Appearance on Joe Rogan’s Show

“It’s important to have diverse voices and points of view on our platform,” an executive wrote in an internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed News.

The day after far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones appeared on its top podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, Spotify is privately defending the booking despite Jones’ podcast being banned by the platform in 2018 for hate speech.

In an internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed News, Spotify executive Horacio Gutierrez, the chief legal officer and head of global affairs, wrote that staffers are encouraged to flag inappropriate content on the platform but that “it’s important that they aren’t simply flagging a piece of content just because of something they’ve read online. It’s all too common that things are taken out of context.”

While not explicitly naming Rogan or Jones, the exec suggested “talking points” for management to follow on the matter, including, “It’s important to have diverse voices and points of view on our platform” and “We are not going to ban specific individuals from being guests on other people’s shows, as the episode/show complies with our content policies.”

Gutierrez concluded the email: “In closing, we appreciate that not all of you will agree with every piece of content on our platform. However, we do expect you to help your teams understand our role as a platform and the care we take in making decisions.”