Scientists want Spotify to stop misinformation after Joe Rogan episode

Two hundred seventy doctors, nurses, scientists, and educators signed an open letter calling on Spotify to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform following an episode of Joe Rogan's popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience."Rogan, who signed an estimated $100 million exclusivity deal with Spotify in 2020, recently interviewed Robert Malone, a medical doctor who claimed US citizens became "hypnotized" into wearing masks and getting COVID-19 vaccines due to a concept he called "mass formation psychosis." Psychology experts said there is no evidence for Malone's claims, and the phrase "mass formation psychosis" does not exist in the American Psychological Association's Dictionary of Psychology.The open letter from the medical community states that Spotify allowing "The Joe Rogan Experience" to air Malone's claims unchecked can "damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals." Rolling Stone first reported on the letter."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," the letter states.YouTube already removed Rogan's interview with Malone, and Twitter banned Malone's account earlier this month for breaking the platform's rules around posting COVID-19 misinformation.Malone wrote in the 1980s about the benefits of using RNA or DNA to create a new type of vaccine, according to The Atlantic.