‘Menace to public health’: 270 doctors criticize Spotify over Joe Rogan’s podcast

A total of 270 US doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals and professors have written an open letter to streaming company Spotify, expressing concern about medical misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, listed as the platform's most popular program.

The letter asks the platform to "establish a clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on its platform".

It accuses controversial host Joe Rogan's show of having a "concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the Covid-19 pandemic".

The letter was first reported by Rolling Stone, which quoted Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago school of public health, calling Rogan "a menace to public health" for airing anti-vaccine ideology.

And, specifically, the letter calls out a highly controversial episode of the podcast from last December that features Robert Malone, a virologist who was involved in the mRNA vaccine technology that led to some of the leading Covid-19 vaccines but has since been criticized for spreading vaccine misinformation.

The episode has been widely criticized for promoting baseless conspiracy theories.

"Dr Malone used the JRE platform to promote numerous baseless claims, including several falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines and an unfounded theory that societal leaders have 'hypnotized' the public. Many of these statements have already been discredited," the letter said.