Skip to main content

Spotify will add a ‘content advisory’ to COVID-19 podcast episodes

By

Following days of controversy stemming from Spotify’s handling of allegations that Joe Rogan has used the platform to spread COVID-19 misinformation, the company said on Sunday it would take new measures to point its users to accurate information about the pandemic. In a blog post attributed to CEO Daniel Ek, the company admitted it hasn’t been transparent enough about its content policy, but stopped short of detailing any specific action against Rogan.

Sometime in the next few days, Spotify says it will add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19. That advisory will direct listeners to the company’s COVID-19 Hub. In its current iteration, the page includes links to podcasts from the BBC, ABC News and Foreign Policy. “To our knowledge, this content advisory is the first of its kind by a major podcast platform,” according to Ek. However, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have employed similar measures.

Spotify has also pledged to publicly share its content guidelines. As of today, you can read them through the company’s Newsroom website. In the future, they’ll also be accessible through Spotify’s main website, and the company has promised to translate them into a variety of other languages. Lastly, the company says it plans to start testing ways to highlight its content guidelines in the tools it offers to podcast producers and other creators.

“We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users,” Ek said. “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.”

The action comes after musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from the streaming platform in protest of its handling of Rogan’s podcast and misinformation more broadly. Earlier today, author Brené Brown said she would not release any new episodes of her Spotify-exclusive podcast “until further notice.”

After Young first pulled his catalog from the platform, the company defended its record against misinformation by claiming it had removed 20,000 COVID-related episodes since the start of the pandemic. However, as part of that sweep, Spotify appears to have not removed any episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience. For instance, you can still listen to the controversial episode where Dr. Robert Malone falsely claims “mass formation psychosis” has led people to believe vaccines are effective against COVID-19. The Verge subsequently published the company’s COVID-19 content guidelines. In an internal memo, Spotify said Rogan's content did not "meet the threshold for removal.”



from Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics https://ift.tt/jEhIXrg5U
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Instagram accidentally reinstated Pornhub’s banned account

By
After years of on-and-off temporary suspensions, Instagram permanently banned Pornhub’s account in September. Then, for a short period of time this weekend, the account was reinstated. By Tuesday, it was permanently banned again. “This was done in error,” an Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch. “As we’ve said previously, we permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies.” Instagram’s content guidelines prohibit  nudity and sexual solicitation . A Pornhub spokesperson told TechCrunch, though, that they believe the adult streaming platform’s account did not violate any guidelines. Instagram has not commented on the exact reasoning for the ban, or which policies the account violated. It’s worrying from a moderation perspective if a permanently banned Instagram account can accidentally get switched back on. Pornhub told TechCrunch that its account even received a notice from Instagram, stating that its ban had been a mistake (that message itse...
Post a Comment
Read more

Colorado police identified the serial killer who murdered 4 women 40 years ago after exhuming his body to analyze a DNA sample

By
A scientist examines computer images of DNA models. Getty Images Police in Colorado have cracked the cold cases of four women killed 40 years ago. Denver PD said genetic genealogy and DNA analysis helped them identify the serial killer. He had died by suicide in jail in 1981. DNA from his exhumed body matched evidence from the murders. Police in Colorado have cracked the code on four murder cases that went unsolved for 40 years, using DNA from the killer's exhumed body. The cases pertain to four women killed in the Denver metro area between 1978 and 1981. They were 33-year-old Madeleine Furey-Livaudais, 53-year-old Dolores Barajas, 27-year-old Gwendolyn Harris, and 17-year-old Antoinette Parks. The four women were stabbed to death. Denver Police Commander Matt Clark said in a press conference Friday that there was an "underlying sexual component" to the murders but didn't elaborate further. In 2009, a detective reviewed Parks' case and picked several p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gemini vs. ChatGPT: Which one planned my wedding better?

By
I was all about the wedding bells after getting engaged in June, but after seeing some of these wedding venue quotes, it’s more like alarm bells. "Ding-dong" has been remixed to "cha-ching" – and I need help. I don’t even know how to begin wedding planning. What are the first steps? What do I need to prioritize first? Which tasks are pressing – and which can wait a year or two? I decided to enlist the help of an AI assistant. Taking it one step further, I thought it’d be interesting to see which chatbot – Gemini Advanced or ChatGPT Plus (i.e., ChatGPT 4o) – is the better wedding planner. Gemini vs ChatGPT: Create a to-do list I’m planning on have my wedding in the summer of 2026 – sometime between August and September. Besides that, I don’t have anything else nailed down, so I asked both Gemini and ChatGPT to give me a to-do list based on the following prompt: “My wedding is between August 2026 and September 2026. Give me a to-do list of things to do for the...
Post a Comment
Read more