Neil Young calls for his music to be pulled off Spotify over vaccine misinformation: reports
Neil Young poses for a portrait at Lost Planet Editorial in Santa Monica, Calif. on Sept. 9, 2019. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP, File)
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(NEXSTAR) – Singer Neil Young has reportedly asked for his songs to be removed from Spotify, a streaming service for music and podcasts, over “false information about vaccines.”
In an open letter posted to his website, Young called on his management team and record label to remove his music, Rolling Stone and Stereogum report. As of Monday evening, the letter appears to have been removed from Young’s site.
According to reports, Young wrote, “Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.”
He added that Spotify can have “[Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both,” Rolling Stone reports.
Recently, 270 health care professionals signed an open letter to Spotify calling for the service to take action against the misinformation being shared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
“By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals,” the letter stated.
Health care professionals highlighted an episode featuring virologist Robert Malone, who they say promotes misinformation about COVID-19. This episode has been heavily criticized by many experts for remarks regarding the pandemic and how the coronavirus impacts people, especially those who are younger, The Hill reports.
One of the doctors who signed the letter, Dr. Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health, told “On Balance” that they were not calling for censorship or removal of the podcast. Instead, they want Spotify to create a policy on how to moderate misinformation.
As of Monday evening, both Young’s music and Rogan’s podcast are available on Spotify. Young’s label – Warner Records – and Spotify did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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