Joe Rogan faced backlash for having Alex Jones on his podcast Tuesday and providing the controversial Infowars publisher with access to audiences he is otherwise denied by online platforms.
The latest episode of the wildly popular “Joe Rogan Experience” includes a lengthy discussion with Mr. Jones, a conservative media personality notorious for promoting bogus conspiracy theories.
Audio and video of the interview was shared by Mr. Rogan’s official accounts on Spotify and YouTube, respectively, which each previously banned his guest’s own program, “The Alex Jones Show.”
Mr. Rogan, 53, announced in May he was moving his podcast exclusively to Spotify later this year as part of a contract that several outlets reported to be worth approximately $100 million.
The audio streaming giant accordingly faced criticism from Spotify users for providing a platform for Mr. Jones in the form of the more than three-hour-long discussion released by Mr. Rogan.
Christine Pelosi, the daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, posted on Twitter about her own experience with the Infowars publisher and pressed Spotify for an explanation.
“Alex Jones posted death threats against me,” she tweeted. “His hate speech is not just vile—it’s dangerous. WTH [What the hell] Spotify?”
“Rogan continuing to platform these far-right sickos is incredibly gross and dangerous,” activist Nathan Bernard said from his verified Twitter account in a widely shared post on the platform.
The Washington Times has asked Spotify to comment on the concerns.
Mr. Jones was booted off both Spotify and YouTube in August 2018, and he is similarly banned from social media services including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, among other platforms.
He appeared twice before on the “Joe Rogan Experience,” including most recently a 2019 episode that is currently the second-most viewed of more than 1,500 videos on the show’s YouTube channel.
Both of those interviews were among dozens omitted from Spotify when the “Joe Rogan Experience” began migrating to the streaming service in September, however, while the latest has been posted.
Video posted on Mr. Rogan’s official YouTube channel of the episode had been viewed more than 3.8 million times as of Wednesday morning. It was not clear how many heard the Spotify version.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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