Freedom of Speech, Spotify, and the Problem with Joe Rogan

The First Amendment is something we all hold dear in the United States.

It guarantees us the freedom to speak our mind without fear of legal reprisal. It guarantees us the right to peaceful protest. It affords us the freedom of the press, which, in our current age of widespread technology, extends to broadcast media (though we have to navigate FCC regulations for mediums like television and terrestrial radio).

It is one of the core foundations of democracy.

However, freedom of speech can be a double-edged sword. Harmful things like hate-speech and false, and sometimes even purposefully fraudulent information are often protected under the First Amendment.

Which makes me ask the question, should people be allowed to broadcast things that are harmful and/or provable untrue simply because of the First Amendment?

At the end of January, Neil Young pulled his entire catalogue from the music streaming service, Spotify. This prompted many Spotify users to ask the question, “Who is Neil Young?”

If you’re a fan of his or of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young like I am, try to keep in mind that there are a lot of younger people who are unaware of his music and the social impact it had in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

They are also unaware of why songs like “Ohio” were eerily prescient of the sorts of social and political unrest we experience today.

Young pulled his catalogue from Spotify as protest over the streaming service’s continued distribution of the Joe Rogan Podcast.

Why?

Young took issue with Rogan spreading false information about COVID. Specifically, Rogan is a proponent of using the pharmaceutical drug Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.

Due to Rogan’s popularity, many people who listen to his podcast began buying and taking Ivermectin, thinking it would prevent or treat COVID-19.

Here’s the thing.

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug, primarily used to treat heartworm in horses.

According to the FDA, “Ivermectin tablets are approved by the FDA to treat people with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two conditions caused by parasitic worms. In addition, some topical forms of ivermectin are approved to treat external parasites like head lice and for skin conditions such as rosacea[1].”

Worms, lice, and skin conditions. That’s what Ivermectin intended to treat.

COIVD primarily affects the respiratory system.

How the drug became seen as a possible treatment for COVID is beyond me.

It’s like trying to fix your car with the ingredients for guacamole.

Not only does Ivermectin not treat or prevent COVID, it can be harmful if taken incorrectly or in large doses.

The FDA’s website cautions, “The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals. Currently available data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19” and “Taking large doses of ivermectin is dangerous[1].”

What happens of someone takes too much of the drug?

The FDA states, “Even the levels of ivermectin for approved human uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death[1].”

In other words, it will make you sick and possibly KILL YOU if you overdose on it, which is easy to do given that it’s mostly prescribed for large livestock and comes in large-dose tablets.

Many critics of Young’s withdrawal from Spotify as well as fans of Joe Rogan claim his protest is moot on the ground of freedom of speech.

Many argue Rogan is just giving his opinion on a controversial matter.

This is a weird grey area, as, depending on which source you look up, some report Rogan’s claims on COVID treatments were speculative. Others report he was a clear advocate for Ivermectin as a cure for COVID.

I don’t listen to Joe Rogan’s podcast, so I couldn’t definitively say.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t have anything against the guy. In fact, I rather liked him on the show News Radio (oh, how I miss News Radio. Such a funny show with a great cast) and as the host of Fear Factor.

What I do worry about is, given how large and dedicated his fan base is, that he’s playing fast and loose with misinformation.

To which Rogan’s fan claim, “He’s just giving his opinion,” or “He’s just telling it like it is.”

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point, we began to conflate opinion with fact. So much so that, now, there’s this nebulous grey area of half-truths and plausible-sounding falsities we have to wade through as we search for accurate information.

It can be difficult to discern facts from opinions, often because opinions are presented as if they’re fact.

Just in case anyone needs it, here’s a quick tutorial on fact versus opinion. And no, there is no such thing as “alternative facts.”

Opinions are subjective, individual points of view. They are judgments on something. Opinions can be debated, but never proven true or false.

For example, in my opinion, Bad Religion is the best band of all time. You can hold a different point of view and argue the merits of other bands/musical artists, but you won’t change my mind. That, however, doesn’t mean this is a fact.

Facts are objective — they are either true or they’re not. They are demonstrably provable or they’re not.

For example, “The sky is blue” is a fact. It’s an objective truth, one that’s easily verifiable. To prove it, all you have to do is go outside on a clear day and look up.

“Ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID” is not an opinion, nor is it a fact, as it is provable false.

At the onset of the pandemic, we didn’t have any answers. The medical community was doing their best to figure out exactly what COVID was, the correct precautions to take, and how best to treat people who got sick from it. They were looking for facts on which to base the best courses of prevention and treatment.

Meanwhile, a frightened and uncertain public was demanding answers that no one had yet.

And Lord help us all, we have so little patience anymore, and none at all when we’re scared.

So when someone with a large audience and a lot of public influence, like Joe Rogan, steps in and starts speaking with confidence and unshakeable certainty about something like COVID-19, people listened. And they heeded his advice, much to their own detriment.

If it sounds like I’m picking on Joe Rogan, that isn’t my intent.

I’m only using him as a recent example of an ongoing, widespread problem.

Never before have human beings had access to so much information.

One would think this would make us smarter and more informed. However, it seems to have had the exact opposite effect.

Due to the deluge of information we’re bombarded with on a daily basis, it’s difficult to know what’s accurate and what’s not. This is in part because many people who spread inaccurate information, whether they do so intentionally/knowingly or not, often disseminate their inaccurate facts with unshakable confidence.

And as comedian Eddie Izzard astutely observed, when you speak, people mostly focus mostly on how you sound and look while doing so as opposed to what you actually say.

Most of us have a natural attraction to people who project confidence, so we’re more easily swayed to believe a person who speaks confidently, even when experts on the subject contradict them.

Moreover, we are more inclined to believe people when they tell us what we want to hear, even when we suspect that what they’re saying is suspect. Joe Rogan’s audience tends toward the conservative side of the political spectrum.

Side note: there’s nothing wrong with being politically conservative. Just like there’s nothing wrong with being politically liberal. We are free to disagree. I just wish we could do so peacefully…

I would wager many of Rogan’s listeners wanted to hear things about COVID that reinforced their preconceived ideas. On the same note, they were just as eager to dismiss new information released by governmental agencies like the CDC and FDA as well as the entirety of the scientific and medical communities that contradicted what they wanted to hear.

This is one of the reasons we can’t have rational discussions with anti-vaxxers.

This is also why telling people to do their own research is a waste of breath. Most people will only research until their own biases are confirmed, regardless of how reliable the source is from which they get their information.

On a small scale, someone spouting opinions as facts or distributing incorrect information is largely inconsequential.

On a national scale, however, it’s highly problematic. In a few instances, as in people getting incorrect medical advice, it can be fatal.

I’m not saying anyone should be denied their freedom of speech. I’m not advocating for censorship.

All I’m saying is that people who have large audiences need to be aware of the influence they have over people. They are the ones who need to be diligent in making sure they information they’re broadcasting is accurate, or, at least not harmful. They have a responsibility to make clear delineations between what they put forth as fact or as their opinion.

Moreover, it us up to us to not allow ourselves to be so easily swayed by the people we’re fans of. Keep in mind they’re human, just like the rest of us. Entertaining and charismatic though they often are, they don’t hold all of life’s answers.

And scant few celebrities hold degrees in medicine.

When it comes to medical advice, call me old-fashioned, but I would prefer to consult with my doctor as opposed to listen to an actor-turned-podcaster.

Sorry, but I’m still hung up on the whole horse de-wormer as treatment for COVID issue.

Seriously?

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[1] “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (fda.gov). Dec. 10, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19 Feb. 7, 2022.