Joe Rogan breaks silence on Spotify controversy over COVID content
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley discusses free speech and private censorship on 'America Reports.'
The hosts of "CBS Mornings" piled on podcast star Joe Rogan, who is the target of liberals in media and entertainment to be deplatformed by Spotify.
Spotify has been facing growing pressure to remove Rogan from its service over allegations that his popular show has been peddling COVID "misinformation," causing musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to pull their music from the streaming giant.
While covering "Spotify's misinformation fight," CBS host Tony Dokoupil acknowledged "these musicians are not going to win this battle," but appeared to express solidarity with them.
Joe Rogan, the popular podcast host on Spotify, has emerged as Public Enemy No.1 among liberals. (Photo by Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images)
"You have a First Amendment right to say what you want. You don't have a First Amendment right to appear on a platform as large as Spotify. That's the issue," Dokoupil said. "Joe Rogan is correct that the medical world gets stuff wrong, but there's a process by which the medical world corrects itself, and that process is not interviewing guys on the fringe of the medical world on your massive platform. That's called irresponsible. It’s not censorship."
"Editors are not censors, they're ensuring quality," Dokoupil added.
Co-host Gayle King then chimed in, suggesting the solution to combat Rogan isn't simply to just "turn it off."
"The thing is, a lot of people do listen to it, and they're getting false, incorrect information and that's why it seems so dangerous," King said.
JOE ROGAN BREAKS SILENCE AFTER NEIL YOUNG'S SPOTIFY CONTROVERSY
"He has a huge reach. He has a huge reach," co-host Nate Burleson emphasized.
"And it matters," Dokoupil said, later adding, "it's a life or death issue. That’s why it’s in a special category."
JOE ROGAN QUESTIONS EVERYTHING -- "Podcast" -- Pictured: (l-r) Joe Rogan, Duncan Trussell -- (Photo by: Vivian Zink/Syfy/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Spotify announced that it will begin to put a disclaimer at the beginning of Rogan’s show when he discusses COVID.
Rogan himself addressed the uproar thanking Spotify for its support and expressing approval of the added disclaimer to his podcast.
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He also vowed to invite guests to balance out the controversial COVID views that are said by others on the podcast.
Spotify previously struck a whopping $100 million deal for the exclusive rights to "The Joe Rogan Experience."
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