The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who signed a multi-million deal with the streaming platform in December 2020, weigh in on the controversy regarding the spread of COVID misinformation by Joe Rogan.

• Jan 31, 2022

AceShowbiz - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have jumped into the controversy of COVID-19 misinformation on Spotify. After Neil Young challenged the streaming platform to choose between him and Joe Rogan, who is a vocal COVID-19 vaccine skeptic, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken up to express their concerns.

"Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis," a spokesperson for Meghan and Harry's charity said in a statement on Sunday, January 30. "Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation every day."

The rep continued stating, "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."

The rep added that the couple plans to discuss the issue with Spotify. "We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does," the statement concluded.

Spotify has not particularly responded to the Sussexes' statement, but its CEO Daniel Ek has released a statement addressing the controversy. "We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users. In that role, it is important to me that we don't take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them," he wrote in the statement posted on the website.

He went on to note, "Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it's become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time."

Neil Young has removed his music from Spotify after he challenged it to choose between him and Joe Rogan, who has been accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. The company said regarding the musician's decision, "We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."

Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren have since followed in the footsteps of the E Street Band member by removing their own music from the platform.