doctors bummed about spotify misinformation

kidfury

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An Open Letter to Spotify: A call from the global scientific and medical communities to implement a misinformation policy

On Dec. 31, 2021, the Joe Rogan Experience(JRE), a Spotify-exclusive podcast, uploaded a highly controversial episode featuring guest Dr. Robert Malone (#1757). The episode has been criticized for promoting baseless conspiracy theories and the JRE has a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. JRE #1757 is not the only transgression to occur on the Spotify platform, but a relevant example of the platform’s failure to mitigate the damage it is causing.

We are a coalition of scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators spanning a wide range of fields such as microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, and neuroscience and we are calling on Spotify to take action against the mass-misinformation events which continue to occur on its platform. With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Though Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, the company presently has no misinformation policy.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine. He has discouraged vaccination in young people and children, incorrectly claimed that mRNA vaccines are “gene therapy,” promoted off-label use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 (contrary to FDA warnings), and spread a number of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. In episode #1757, Rogan hosted Dr. Robert Malone, who was suspended from Twitter for spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Dr. Malone used the JRE platform to further 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. Notably, Dr. Malone is one of two recent JRE guests who has compared pandemic policies to the Holocaust. These actions are not only objectionable and offensive, but also medically and culturally dangerous.

The average age of JRE listeners is 24 years old and according to data from Washington State, unvaccinated 12-34 year olds are 12 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID than those who are fully vaccinated. Dr. Malone’s interview has reached many tens of millions of listeners vulnerable to predatory medical misinformation. Mass-misinformation events of this scale have extraordinarily dangerous ramifications. As scientists, we face backlash and resistance as the public grows to distrust our research and expertise. As educators and science communicators, we are tasked with repairing the public’s damaged understanding of science and medicine. As physicians, we bear the arduous weight of a pandemic that has stretched our medical systems to their limits and only stands to be exacerbated by the anti-vaccination sentiment woven into this and other episodes of Rogan’s podcast.

This is not only a scientific or medical concern; it is a sociological issue of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform. We, the undersigned doctors, nurses, scientists, and educators thus call on Spotify to immediately establish a clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on its platform.

Signed,

Adriana Sosa, DO: Medical Resident

Adrianna Tseretopoulos, MBBS, MRCGP: Physician

Alexis Paulson, MSN, APRN: Nurse Practitioner

Alie Ward: Host/Science Correspondent, Ologies Podcast

Allison Myers, MD, MPH: Nurse Practitioner

Allison Neitzel, MD: Physician

Alyssa Fears, PhD, MPH&TM: Postdoctoral Fellow; University of Texas Medical Branch

Anand Swaminathan, MD, MPH: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, St. Joseph’s University Medical Center

Andrea Love, PhD: Immunologist/Microbiologist

Andrei Mayer, PhD: Assistant Professor, Federal University of Santa Catarina

Andrew Bauman, MD: Medical Faculty; Geisle School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Angela Lindsay, AGPCNP: Nurse Practitioner

Angharad Ames, MD: Chief Resident, University of California Riverside
 

kidfury

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Anita Patel, MD: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Childrens National Medical Center

Anna Stovall, PhD: Associate Medical Writer, Apothecom

April English, MPH: Science Correspondent, Unbiased Science Podcast

Arden Heath: Clinical Microbiology MS Student

AS Richards: Research Fellow, Science Communicator

Asher Williams, PhD: Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, Cornell University

Ashim Ahuja, MD: Physician

Ashley Pacheco, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC: Nurse Practitioner

Atoosa Kourosh, MD, MPH: Clinical Faculty, Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine

Autumn Schuster, MSW, LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker, University of California Irvine

Avisha NessAiver, MS: Chief Science Officer, MedStartr Direct

Azad Gucwa, PhD, MT(ASCP): Assistant Professor; Farmingdale State College

Azizul Rehman, MD: Interventional Cardiologist

Azza Gadir, PhD: Immunologist

Baptiste Lacoste, PhD: Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa

Barry Jarvis, MD: Attending Physician

Ben Rein, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University

Benjamin Steinberg, PsyD: Psychologist

Bianca Patel, MD, MPH: Pediatrician

Blair Bentley, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Bnar Talabani, MBBCh: Clinical Nephrologist

Boris Tezak, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Duke University Medical Center

Breann Abernathy, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota

Brianna Soreth, MA: Clinical Research Coordinator

Bridget Scallen, MS: Editor, Unbiased Science Podcast

Cara Grome, MD: Psychiatrist

Cara L Santa Maria, MS, MA: Psychotherapist, PhD Candidate, Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Carl Nathan, MD: Professor, Weill Cornell Medicine

Carrie Ingersoll-Wood: PhD Candidate, Syracuse University

Cassandre Gousse, BSN, RN: Registered Nurse

Chelsea Matos, MSN, FNP-C: Family Nurse Practitioner

Christian Capitini, MD: Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Christine Garvey, DVM: Associate Veterinarian

Christopher McMillan, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Queensland

Cole Kraten: Director of Research, Grasshopper Farms

Colleen Trecartin-Frost, DMD: Dentist

Courtney Kennedy, MS, PA-C: Physician Assistant

Crissi Stokes, DHSc: Professor

Crystal Pawula, MSN: Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

Cydney Jardine, MPH: Epidemiological Researcher, Colorado State University

Daniel Anthony Barone, MD: Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology; Weill Cornell Medicine

Daniel Wilson, PhD: Analytical Scientist, Eurofins

Danielle Jones, MD, FACOG: Consultant, Southland DHB

Danielle Levitt, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

David Craig, MD: Emergency Medicine Physician

David Levine, MA: Writer/Researcher, Johns Hopkins University

David Stukus, MD: Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Nationwide Childrens Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Dee Chohan, MBBChir, FACEM: Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine

Divya Ramjee, MS: PhD Candidate, Adjunct Professor, American University

Dorothy Zahor, MS: Eastern Michigan University

Eden Maness, MA: Psychiatry Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School

Elisabeth Marnik, PhD: Assistant Professor of Molecular Biochemistry and Microbiology

Elissa Tremblay, MSN: Nurse Practitioner
 
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kidfury

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Elizabeth Delery, PhD: Assistant Professor, Marian University

Elle Michel, LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Emily Cheng, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC: ICU Nurse

Emily Scott, RN, BSN: Registered Nurse

Emma Fite-Wassilak, MD: Family Physician

Eric Burnett, MD, MBS: Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

Eric Topol, MD: Professor and EVP, Scripps Research

Erica Wilson, PharmD, BCPS: Assistant Professor, Notre Dame of MD University School of Pharmacy

Erin MacMillan, PA: Physician Associate

Esther Sandoval, MSc: Associate Professor, College of the Sequoias

Ethan Chapin, MD: Emergency Physician

Forrest Valkai: Masters Student, University of Tulsa

Flyne Anderson, RN, BSN: Registered Nurse

Francis Barany, PhD: Professor, Weill Cornell Medicine

Gabriel Evaristo, MD: Obstetrician-Gynecologist

Gabrielle Hood, MD: Staff Physician

Georgina Morley, PhD

Glen Pyle, PhD:
Professor, University of Guelph

Gregory Baker, MD: Attending Anesthesiologist

Haley Amplo: Graduate Researcher, Rutgers University Newark

Hayley Dewey-Hagborg, MS: Associate Scientist, Intellia Therapeutics

Heather Caslin, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University

Heather Irobunda, MD: Attending Physician

Imogen R Coe, PhD: Professor, Ryerson University

Inna Kanevsky, PhD: Professor, San Diego Mesa College

Jaclyn Steinbach, BVetMed MRCVS: Head of Veterinary Translational Medicine

Jaclyn Usuriello, RN, BSN: Research Nurse

Jaclyn Wolfe: Senior Biochemist

James Bradac, PhD: Former Chief, Preclinical R&D, Division of Aids, NIAID, NIH

Jason Prystowsky, MD, MPH: Emergency Physician

Jen Gunter, MD: Physician

Jen Nossokoff, PA-C: Physician Assistant

Jena Hales, PhD: Associate Professor of Neuroscience, University of San Diego

Jenna Lizewski, DNP, FNP-C: Family Nurse Practitioner

Jenna Meyers, MSN, CPNP: Emergency Medicine Nurse Practitioner

Jennifer Hickey: Senior Research Associate, Sherlock Biosciences

Jennifer Lincoln, MD: Attending Physician

Jennifer Wenzel, PhD: Assistant Professor, University of San Diego

Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS: Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research Fellow, Boston Children’s Hospital

Jessica Steier, DrPH: Public Health Scientist

Jessica Stokes-Parish, PhD, RN, MNurs: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Bond University

Jessie Brown, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University

Jilyan Decker, MD: Resident Physician

Joan Chandra, MD: Instructor in Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Johanna Hild, DO: Resident Physician

John Brownstein, PhD: Professor, Harvard Medical School

John P Moore, PhD: Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine

Jonathan Alessi: MD/PhD Candidate

Jonathan Jarry, MSc: Science Correspondent, McGill University

Jonathan Laxton, MD, FRCPC: Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Manitoba

Jonathan N Stea, PhD: Clinical Psychologist, Adjust Assistant Professor, University of Calgary

Joseph Osmundson, PhD: Clinical Assistant Professor, New York University

Joseph Zundell, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania

Juan R Cubillos-Ruiz, PhD: Associate Professor of Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine

Justin Trotter, PhD: Instructor, Stanford University

Justyna Kulpa, PhD: Senior Scientist, Canopy Growth Corporation

Kaitlyn Gooding, MD: Medical Resident

Karen Nguyen: Public Health Microbiologist, Cal State University Fullerton

Karen Tang, MD, MPH: Senior Physician

Karl Nadolsky, DO: Endocrinologist, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Michigan State University

Katie Ruschman, RN, BSN: Nurse

Katie Stiles, PhD: Assistant Professor of Research, Weill Cornell Medicine

Katrine L Wallace, PhD: Epidemiologist, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health

Kayla A Nichols, PharmD: Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Emory University

Kirsta Hoffman, MD: Physician

Korinne Bricker: COVID-19 Laboratory Supervisor

Kristen Watt, RPh: Pharmacist

Kristin Fontes, MD: Emergency Medicine Physician

Lace Riggs, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow; Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lara Lambert, MD: Physician

Laur Rubino, PhD

Laura Dees, BSN, MS, APRN, CRNA

Laura Hlohinec, RN
: Registered Nurse

Lauren Bello-Matricaria, MPH: Clinical Research Monitor

Laren Seserko, OTR/L

Leah Steinberg
: Medical Student

Lexi Goldstein, MD: Medical Resident

Lia Griffiths, PsyD: Psychologist

Lindsey Shultz, MD: Public Health Advisor

Lisa Boone, PA-C: Physician Assistant

Lisle Winston, MD: Medical Resident

Loralee Richter, PA-C, MS: Physician Assistant

Lorna Tychostup, MS: Senior Communications Consultant, NYU

Maddy Lewis, MPH: Infectious Disease Epidemiologist

Madelyn Pecyne, PA-C:physician Assistant

Maike Neuhaus, PhD: Honorary Research Fellow, University of Queensland

Mallory Harris: PhD Student, Stanford University

Marcia Miller, MD: Physician

Maren Abromowitz, MSN: Family Nurse Practitioner

Maria Victoria Dreher Wentz, MSc: Science Communicator

Marie-Helene Lofland ANP-BC, CCRN, NEA: Nurse Practitioner

Mary Colasanto, PhD: Clinical Genomic Scientist, PerkinElmer Genomics

Mauricio Gonzales-Arias, MD: Attending Physician

Megan Hanley, NAR: Nursing Assistant

Melanie Evans Jakle, MSc: Research Scientist

Melissa Aswad, MPAS, PA-C: Physician Assistant

Merridee Lefner, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas at San Antonio

Michael Aptman, MD: Professor, University of Miami School of Medicine

Michael LaFontaine, PhD: Professor of Medical Biochemistry, Marian University COM

Michael Lederman, MD: Professor of Medicine (Emeritus), Case Western Reserve University

Michael Natter, MD: Endocrinology Fellow

Michelle Krogsgaard, PhD: Associate Professor, New York University School of Medicine

Milene Vandal, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary

Mirella Salvatore, MD: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine

Miriam Merad, MD, PhD: Director, Precision Immunology Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Mirvat Termos, MPH: PhD Student

Moira Rashid, MD, MPH

Molly Nowels
: PhD Candidate, Rutgers School of Public Health

Monique L. Smith, PhD: Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, University of San Diego

Morgan Freney: PhD Candidate, University of Queensland

Natalie Soto, MSc: Science Teacher
 
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kidfury

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Neil Harrison, PhD: Professor, Columbia University

Nils-Petter Rudqvist, PhD: Assistant Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Nini Muñoz, PhD: Senior Design Engineer, Garmin Intl.

Océane Sorel, DVM, PhD

Olivia Grant
: PhD Student

Pascal S.C. Juang, MD: Physician, Former Chief Resident at Harvard Emergency Medicine

Paul Ian Cross, MSc, PhD: Clinical Research Consultant

Poorvi Desai, MD: Hematologist/Oncologist

Pushpendra Patel, MS, MD: Medical Student

Rachael Zemek, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Western Australia

Rachel Aslanian, BSN

Rachel Mirabai Moore Troll, BSN, RN
: Registered Nurse

Rashmi Advani, MD, DABOM: Gastroenterology Fellow, Stony Brook University Hospital

Rayna Sobieski, MD: Attending Physician

Renee Cavanagh, PsyD: Subject Matter Expert, DHA

Risa Hoshino, MD: Pediatrician

Robert Duff, PhD: Clinical Neuropsychologist

Robin Hills, MMSci, MSRCS: Instructor, Shoreline Community College

Roger Nattrass, MD: Anesthesiologist

Romy Blacklaw, RN, IPN: Registered Nurse

Roshni Rao, PhD: Director, Johns Hopkins University

Ruben Diaz, DNP, FNP-BC: Nurse Practitioner

Ryan Marino, MD: Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Sabina Vohra-Miller, MSc: DrPH Student

Sallie Permar, MD, PhD: Professor and Chair of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine

Samantha Yammine, PhD: Neuroscientist, University of Toronto

Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD, FRCPC: Program Director and Assistant Professor, Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Western University

Sampril Banerjee, PhD, MStat: Associate Professor, Weill Cornell Medicine

Samuel Cohn, MD: Neurologist

Sandra Demaria, MD: Professor of Radiation Oncology and Pathology, Weill Cornell Medicine

Sara Gering, RN, BSN: Registered Nurse

Sara Pentlicky, MD, MPH: Chief, Division of Complex Family Planning

Sarah J McAnulty, PhD: Executive Director, Skype a Scientist, University of Connecticut

Sarah Perl, LCSW-R: Licensed Clinical Worker

Sasha Strul, MD: Pediatric Ophthalmologist and Strabismus Surgeon, University of Minnesota

Saskia Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA: Assistant Professor, George Mason University

Scott Fujimoto, DO: Assistant Professor, Loma Linda University

Sean Adwar, MD: Interventional Radiologist

Seth Trueger, MD, MPH, FACEP: Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Seth Turner, MD: Physician

Shari K Moore, DO: Resident Physician

Shauna O’Neal, CNM, FNP-C, RN, MSN: Registered Nurse

Shawn Carbonell, MD, PhD: CEO, Brazen Bio

Sheridan Nygard, MPH: Behavioral Health Case Manager, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Shoshana Ungerleider, MD: Internal Medicine / Host, TED Health Podcast

Silvia Chiara Formenti, MD: Professor, Weill Cornell Medicine

Sindhu Sathyanarayana, MBBS: Physician

Siyamak Saleh, MD: Medical Doctor, Department of Health South Africa

Spencer R Scott, PhD

Staci Tanouye, MD
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Stacey De-Lin, MD: Associate Medical Director

Steve Rathje: PhD Candidate

Stuart Horowitz, PhD, MBA: President and CEO, Institution Insights, LLC

Susanna Harris, PhD: Senior Manager of Communications, Xontogeny

Sushmita Mukherjee, PhD: Associate Professor of Research, Weill Cornell Medicine

Sydney Vita, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Louisiana State University Health Sciences College

Tanya Lama, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, SUNY Stony Brook

Taylor Nichols, MD: Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor, University of California San Francisco

Teagan Wall, PhD

Teresa Albernas, MSN
: Nurse Practitioner

Terra Kater, MSN, AGNP-C: Nurse Practitioner

Tessa Cremer: MPH Student, University of Minnesota

Thierry Alquier, PhD: Associate Professor, University of Montreal

Timothy Caulfield: Professor, University of Alberta

Todd Wolynn, MD: Pediatrician, CEO, Kids Plus Pediatrics

Tracy Ruscetti, PhD: Science Correspondent

Troy Wood, PhD: Associate Professor, University at Buffalo

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Valentina Martinez Damonte, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University

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Victor Ruthig, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow, Weill Cornell Medicine

Walter Ian Lipkin, MD: Professor, Columbia University

Wen H Shen, PhD: Associate Professor, Weill Cornell Medicine

Willem Hanekom, MBChB: Professor, University College London

William Giardino, PhD: Assistant Professor, Stanford University

William Hanage, PhD: Associate Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Yasmin Mohseni, PhD: Scientist, Quell Therapeutics

Yevgeniya Sergeyenko, MD, MPH: Medicine Fellow, Emory University School of Medicine

Zachary Rubin, MD: Clinical Immunologist

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afoaf

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I think it's shameful what Rogan is doing with his platform

he could really move the needle with an audience of that size, but instead he's just cashing in on idiots and their idiocy

where's the episode on data literacy...or the one about critical thinking...or navigating bias

he's just another false idol
 

Sharkbiscuit

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I think it's shameful what Rogan is doing with his platform

he could really move the needle with an audience of that size, but instead he's just cashing in on idiots and their idiocy

where's the episode on data literacy...or the one about critical thinking...or navigating bias

he's just another false idol
He's a great MMA announcer and he hosts the best long-form interview talk show at the present time.

I think people want to hear Jocko talk about responding to shootings in the US or famous combat scenes in movies, not re-attend their university Statistics or Applied Discrete Structures etc. lectures.

Think about how many people get told on a weekly basis that the animals were created a day or two after the sun.

I mean at least a bucket of horse paste up the ass's purpose is to get the no good very bad out.
 

kidfury

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I don't agree with everything he says but he makes a lot of good points and has a lot of interesting guests and I learn a lot of different stuff and
 

grapedrink

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JR got his feelings hurt when the left came after him.

He's going to show them now.

Little man syndrome is hard shake.

Money won't do it.

(He definitely has LMS. And I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing.)
Yes. Character assassination based on lies has consequences.
 
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afoaf

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I don't agree with everything he says but he makes a lot of good points and has a lot of interesting guests and I learn a lot of different stuff and
Rogan is LifeOnMars learning

I do not think he is a good interviewer; he lacks the intellectual capacity

it's just a circle jerk

(I do listen when you guys post stuff)

also, if people were educated on logic and literacy you wouldn't fkn need to ask for people to be censored because people would have the tools to detect bullshit