Prince Harry and Meghan voice concern to Spotify over COVID-19 misinformation
Harry and Meghan signed a series of corporate deals,
including to produce and host podcasts for Spotify, as part of their efforts to
make a living following their split with Britain's royal family announced in
2020.
Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have expressed
their concern to Spotify about COVID-19 misinformation on its platform and are
committed to continuing to work with the company, a spokesperson for their
Archewell foundation said on Sunday (Jan 30).
Singer-songwriters Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are removing
their music from Spotify in protest that the popular streaming service has
allowed the airing of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
Harry and Meghan signed a series of corporate deals,
including to produce and host podcasts for Spotify, as part of their efforts to
make a living following their split with Britain's royal family announced in
2020.
"Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the
serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation every day. Last April, our
co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all
too real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform," the
spokesperson said.
"We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify
to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health
crisis. We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing
our work together as it does."
Contacted by Reuters on Sunday through its website, Spotify
had no immediate comment.
The Swedish company has previously said it worked to balance
"both safety for listeners and freedom for creators" and had removed
more than 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 in accordance with its
"detailed content policies."
Young objected to his music being played on the same
platform as Joe Rogan's top-rated postcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan has
stirred controversy with his views on the pandemic, government mandates and
vaccines to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Earlier this month, 270 scientists and medical professionals
signed a letter urging Spotify to take action against Rogan, accusing him of
spreading falsehoods on the podcast.
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