Just when you thought Neil Young’s ill-conceived boycott of Spotify over Joe Rogan was fizzling out, Prince Harry and Meghan step in to keep it fizzling a little longer. The couple – not known to be fans of people expressing themselves freely – have been “expressing concerns” to Spotify behind the scenes, warning of the “serious harms” of false information. The Telegraph has the story.
Spotify, which signed an £18million deal to work with the couple’s Archewell media company last year, has come under fire over the alleged spread of COVID-19 misinformation by other podcasters on its streaming service.
Prince Harry and Meghan have been “expressing concerns” to Spotify behind the scenes, it has emerged, with the couple warning of the “serious harms” of false information.
The revelation comes as the row continues about the platform’s marquee podcast – the Joe Rogan Experience – which has faced criticism due to the host’s alleged airing of vaccine-sceptical views and debunked claims regarding the treatment of COVID-19.
Prince Harry and Meghan have waded into the row, with an Archewell spokesman stating: “Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis.
“Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation every day.
“Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all-too-real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform.
“We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.
“We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does.”
The comments from Archewell come after musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell demanded their music be pulled from the platform unless Joe Rogan’s podcast was removed.
Spotify removed Young’s music from the platform and retained the Joe Rogan Experience, which signed an exclusive deal with Spotify worth £82million in 2020, and is now one of the world’s most-listened-to podcasts.
The podcast has faced criticism during the COVID-19 pandemic for allegedly providing a platform for fringe views, including an episode with vaccine scientist Dr Robert Malone, who made claims about the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Rogan himself has said on his show that the young and healthy do not “need” the vaccine. He later clarified that he was not anti-vaccine and stated: “I’m not a respected source of information.”
Last year he outlined his position on the vaccine, saying that he was “not an anti-vax person” and adding: “I believe they’re safe and encourage many people to take them.”
The problem with the call to ban ‘misinformation’, of course, is that the authorities have changed their messages repeatedly throughout the pandemic. Different authorities also say different things, with the U.S. health authorities claiming the Covid vaccines are safe for young children while the Swedish health authorities say otherwise. This means there is no sound definition of ‘misinformation’ that can be banned that guarantees only to forbid what is false. Instead, what the call amounts to is a ban on the airing of any viewpoint other than the currently officially approved one in a given country, right or wrong. But that is just Government censorship of dissent, and is clearly neither liberal, scientific, nor conducive to the discovery of what is true.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Nils Lofgren, Brené Brown and possibly Dave Grohl have joined the boycott. At this rate Spotify will run out of artists some time in, er, the year 4000.
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“Grant Shapps faces Tory mutiny over hydrogen levy plans”
Not put off by the billions wasted on badly thought out plans to counter the thing that isn’t happening, we’re going to double down, again..?
“Insolent, unproductive and dominated by HR, the Civil Service thinks it rules Britain”
‘Release them back to the private sector’.? They wouldn’t last a morning in the private sector.
“They wouldn’t last a morning in the private sector.”
Absolutely correct. The senior civil servants I came across when I worked amongst them were thick, arrogant beyond belief, clueless job-wise and masters at ducking and diving. Of the scores I cam across only two would have stood a chance working in the private sector.
It and the people are not much different in the large corporation part of the private sector anymore.
Igor has made an interesting discovery using UK data regarding a significant increase in hospitalizations 6 months post Covid booster;
”The most important fact we see is that for people over 50, the most dangerous period after vaccination is between 6 and 9 months after their last dose. Their risk of hospitalization is several times higher than before six months or after nine months. The increase in risk far outweighs a small reduction in the first six months.
So, people who take a Covid booster first go through a somewhat reduced hospitalization risk for the first six months, then go through a dramatically heightened risk of hospitalization, then hospitalization rates “return to normal,” with the normal being very high. Does that look like the vaccine provides any benefit? Not to me!”
https://igorchudov.substack.com/p/ukhsa-boosters-greatly-increase-covid
Neil Oliver
Well said, that man. Much sense spoken.
Just a thought on ULEZ:
Are these prisons being built in preparation for Billy’s next release?
“Catastrophic Contagion” is apparently going to be the big one. How much more effective and targeted would it be if people were closely confined in 15 minute cities?
Excellent point Hux, ref the LTNs especially, something I’ve been ruminating on too.
I also wondered about the power supply required by all that additional surveillance: the local town is just finishing off it’s 2nd ‘smart junction’ and about to start a 3rd, the multiple cameras of which are all cabled. As are the many additional street cameras installed during the lockdowns – all while we’re being told to freeze to death in the dark at home. How’s that supposed to meet Net Zero then?
“I also wondered about the power supply required by all that additional surveillance”
This is where the £37 billion on Track and Trace went, something I have mentioned numerous times – smart junctions, smart cameras. T and T was never just about a bloody app.
Hey don’t forget about ‘Outbreak 24’, the SARS-5 plandemic scheduled for next year.
They’re keeping us guessing obviously. Wow these pandemics really are like buses…
I’ve not heard of ‘Outbreak 24’ Mogs. Can you post a link?
https://rumble.com/v28nqro-outbreak-24-simulazione-della-pandemia-2024-dove-il-virus-sars-cov-5-creer-.html
This simulation was in Italy in 2021. There’s probably plenty more that we’re not even aware of. Obsessive b’stards!
Many thanks Mogs.
“Fake trans applicants ‘could trick universities’”
But but but aren’t straight A pupils – whatever their race, creed or colour – simply a result of white privilege? It’s only your pronouns that count these days…..
…and this just in from down under:
https://rumble.com/v297guk-february-11-2023.html
I was appalled to learn that the Guardian loons had accused Neil Oliver of antisemitism. To accuse someone of antisematism because they talk about global elites and their out in the open conspiracies is disgusting.
Made me feel quite sick
The Groan is a sickening travesty of a publication even by the sickening standards of the MSM.
Interesting take by Craig Murray on the Sy Hersh story. https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2023/02/sy-hersh-and-the-way-we-live-now/
“… But what most worries me about the entire story is the unanimous complicity of the mainstream media in ignoring the completely obvious.
The media line, parroted here relentlessly by the BBC and corporate media, was that the Russians had probably themselves blown up the pipeline on which they had expended such great resources and three decades of intense diplomatic activity, and which was to be the key to Russia’s single most valuable source of income for the next 40 years.
This was always quite literally incredible. You would have to be deranged to believe it.
It actually taught me not just that we truly are in the realm of totalitarianism and the Big Lie, but I learnt something very important about how the Big Lie works.
The secret is not that people genuinely believe an outrageous claim. The secret is that people do genuinely believe that they are in a battle of good against evil, and it is necessary to accept the narrative being promoted, in the interests of fighting evil.
Don’t question, just follow. If you do question, you are promoting evil.
I am sure that is how it works.
State and corporate stenographer journalists are actually intelligent individuals. If they thought about it, they would realise that the narrative that Russia blew up its own pipeline is obvious nonsense.
But they are convinced it is morally wrong to think about it…. ”
There is also the not to be overlooked issue of the No2Nato event on 25.2.in London having to go underground.
That development aloneis actually a confirmation of Peter Hitchens fear already having become reality.
He suggests attending it even if you disagree but are pro free speech.
https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/edible-insects-european-union#:~:text=In%20May%202021%2C%20the%20European,the%20house%20cricket%20in%20March
A load of crap about…crap.