During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Joe Rogan Experience, an extremely popular podcast hosted by comedian, and MMA commentator Joe Rogan has become a consistent source of medical advice that often runs contrary to the findings of the majority of medical experts.
With an audience of approximately 11 million listeners, the show has become a platform for medical professionals, health influencers and everyone in between to offer medical advice that would otherwise be censored by mainstream media gatekeepers.
In Jan. 2022, over 270 doctors and scientists signed a petition asking Spotify, the distributor of The Joe Rogan Experience to do something to help moderate any and all misinformation that may be spouted on the podcast.
In late January, rockstar Neil Young and a plethora of other musicians and artists requested that their work be removed from Spotify in protest of the platform’s handling of COVID-19 misinformation. A move that comedian Jon Stewart referred to as an, “overreaction.”
The media firestorm surrounding Spotify has led the company to announce that they will place content advisory warnings before any and all podcasts that feature discussions on COVID-19. The warnings will feature links that’ll direct listeners to Spotify’s “COVID-19 Hub” which, “provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources.”
During a half baked mea culpa posted to his Instagram account on Jan. 31, host Joe Rogan praised Spotify’s decision to add a content warning before his podcast. The comedian also pledged to do more research ahead of future interviews. As well as have on his program, a wider array of medical professionals, including more mainstream ones to respond to any potentially controversial guests.
During the video, Rogan claimed that initially his podcast was meant to be an outlet for him to have fun conversations with his friends, and that he never expected it to have the kind of influence it has attained over the years. This begs an interesting question, to what extent does an independent media operation, one that does not purport itself to be a purveyor of news or facts, have a responsibility to only provide accurate fact driven information?
On one hand, I believe anyone willing to do the work of building and maintaining a successful show independently should be able to do the show as they please. So long as they’re not actively causing harm to others. Unfortunately in Joe Rogan’s case that might be a big “if.”
I could be wrong but I don’t imagine lots of people are making their medical decisions based solely off of what a guy on Joe Rogan said. I think it’s likely that if you’re listening to an episode featuring a noted anti-vaxxer, you were probably leaning towards no on the vaccine already.
I may be in the minority here, but I don’t believe Joe Rogan is intentionally spreading misinformation. I think it’s more likely that he is just another uninformed talking head spouting off his own opinions. Opinions that may or may not be grounded in reality. Who among us hasn’t been that person at one time or another?
The difference between Joe Rogan and the drunkard at your local bar is that Rogan has a huge platform and a microphone. Which in the viewer’s eyes gives him a certain aura of authority. One that most of the time he’ll readily admit he shouldn’t have.
At the heart of this entire ordeal lies an even bigger problem. With virtually no fact checking required, independent media outlets are free to continue blurring the line between fact and opinion. Whereas “mainstream media” outlets typically employ the use of gatekeepers and fact checkers, independent media has killed the gatekeeper and relegated the role of the fact checker to the listeners.
If independent media is going to continue to thrive, there’s three things we as media consumers have to do. One, we need to learn to be comfortable hearing opposing viewpoints. Two, we need to hold the talking heads accountable by fact checking any big claims that they make, and three we need to hold ourselves accountable by using our critical thinking skills and doing our own research.
Confirmation bias is something that everyone is guilty of to a certain extent. When we’re presented with new information that confirms what we already thought, we feel smart, so we see no reason to look any further. However until we are able to loudly call out misinformation, even if it’s something we may want to believe, programs like Joe Rogan’s and others will continue to be hotbeds of misinformation that could have unfortunate real life consequences
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