Neil Young has declared all his music should be removed from Spotify immediately due Joe Rogan's repeated use of the platform to propagate vaccine misinformation on his podcast.
In a since-deleted open letter written to his management and published to his website, Young wrote: "I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform. They can have Rogan or Young. Not both."
"I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines - potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," he continued.
"Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule."
The 'Harvest Moon' hitmaker's stance comes after nearly 300 medical professionals and scientists signed a letter demanding Spotify take action against the "mass-misinformation events" that take place on the podcast, entitled The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE).
The coalition noted that Rogan's podcast attracts 11 million listeners per episode and has "tremendous influence", particularly over young people "vulnerable to predatory medical misinformation".
The letter was drawn up after a December 31 episode of JRE featuring Dr Robert Malone, a virologist who had been banned from Twitter for promoting COVID-19 misinformation and undermining the efficacy of the vaccine.
In episode #1757, which quickly went viral, Dr Malone promoted what the group called "numerous baseless claims, including several falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines and an unfounded theory that societal leaders have 'hypnotised' the public".
"Many of these statements have already been discredited," the letter continued.
"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 group insisted that Spotifiy had a "responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform", noting the company presently does not have a misinformation policy.
