Joe Rogan is better than his critics

Joe Rogan’s response to his critics makes his critics look like the intolerant, petty tyrants they are. You should listen to the whole thing, but here’s an important extract.

The problem I have with the term ‘misinformation’– especially today — is that many of the things that we thought of as misinformation just a short while ago are now accepted as fact.

Like for instance, eight months ago if you said that if you get vaccinated you can still catch Covid and you can still spread Covid, you would be removed from social media. They would ban you from certain platforms. Now, that’s accepted as fact.

If you said, ‘I don’t think cloth masks work,’ you would be banned from social media. Now, that’s openly and repeatedly stated on CNN.

If you said, ‘I think it’s possible that Covid-19 came from a lab,’ you would be banned from many social media platforms. Now that’s on the cover of Newsweek.

All of those theories — that at one point in time were banned — were openly discussed by those two men that I had on my podcast — that have been accused of dangerous misinformation.

We need more, not less, open and honest discussion in this country, and the success of Joe Rogan’s podcast shows that there’s a hunger for it.

This is not North Korea, where only one point of view is allowed to be spoken.

24 thoughts on “Joe Rogan is better than his critics”

  1. So the argument here seems to be:

    Premise 1: If the mainstream media ever makes any mistakes in its reporting, we should open wide the floodgates for absolutely any point of view, no matter how dangerous it may be.

    Premise 2: The mainstream media does sometimes makes mistakes in its reporting.

    Conclusion: We should open wide the floodgates for absolutely any point of view, no matter how dangerous it may be.

    1. That’s a ridiculous interpretation, especially since the two men on the podcasts that have caused all the ruckus are among the most well-qualified and credentialed people around.

        1. That may be, but his point still stands. The use of the word “misinformation” has itself become misinformation.

          1. By his argument it has always been misinformation, because people have always made mistakes.

  2. QUOTE: Joe Rogan is better than his critics

    Indeed! As well, better than some of Rogan’s supporters. Both sides seemed to want to “dig in” instead of identifying potential solutions. Yet, kudos to both Spotify and Rogan for responding in a reasonable manner and making modifications that have potential beneficial to their audience.

    Spotify’s CEO announced updates to the platform’s policies, including the addition of content advisories for podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19. It’s good to see Spotify found value in implementing this as I thought it to be a reasonable measure at the start of this controversy.

    As well, Rogan responded by saying,“one of the things Spotify wants to do, that I agree with, is at the beginning of these controversial podcasts, specially about Covid, is to put a disclaimer and say that you should speak with your physician and that these people and the opinions they express are contrary to the opinions of the consensus of experts, which I think is very important. Sure, have that on there. I’m very happy with that.”

    1. Rogan was very gracious. He said he had no hard feelings against Neil Young, or even the “haters.” He thanked Spotify, and he agreed to reasonable changes.

      That’s all good stuff. Why do we have to go straight to Defcom 4 when people disagree?

      1. QUOTE: That’s all good stuff. Why do we have to go straight to Defcom 4 when people disagree?

        Indeed, Joe was a model spokesperson in his response to this matter. I enjoyed listening to his balanced commentary. I hope more will follow his example.

        Unfortunately, people seem to immediately “go there” these days. Looking for opportunities for agreement is often seen as weakness and negotiating with terrorists. As a business, it would have been advantageous for Spotify to identify a way for Rogan and Young to co-exist. It would mean more revenue and opportunity for them. Yet, it seemed people picked sides immediately and wanted Spotify to go all or nothing without even trying to find common ground. Albeit they had to let Young go, I think the adjustments they made were appropriate for the health of the business and their audience.

  4. I was on Spotify on Monday and saw Rogan’s piece come up and so I viewed it. I thought it reasonable, humble, and that he comported himself well.

  5. Despite Rogan’s and Spotify’s gracious response, it appears a hornet’s nest has been unleashed by Young’s initial challenge. More are joining the exit from Spotify. It’s uncertain if it will grow and if it will negatively impact Spotify’s revenues longer-term…we’ll see.

    Indeed, it may have been to Spotify’s advantage to see if Young and Rogan could co-exist. Despite their most recent changes, they still have this issue to address. What a difference a week makes.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/spotifys-problems-grow-as-more-artists-join-boycott/ar-AATpLkJ?li=BBnb7Kz

  6. I can recognize a great joke when I see it. Old college buddy is definitely a RWNJ. He’s ready to vote for Trump, Don Jr, then Ivanka if he got the chance. But to the joke meme he posted:

    “ Yoko Ono threatens to ADD her music to Spotify unless Joe Rogan is removed.”

  7. Rogan seems to have ticked off more than Neil Young and has made more apologies. This time for the use of the “N-word”. As well, Spotify has deleted some of his content. Seems this little dust-up with Young has opened a can of worms. What’s next?

    “I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, nevermind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven’t said it in years. Instead of saying ‘the N-word,’ I would just say the word. I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing. It looks f–king horrible. Even to me.”

    It was reported that the streaming service has taken down rougly 70 Rogan podcasts without explanation. Many of the podcasts that were yanked involved other controversial commentators, including Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Owen Benjamin and Canadian writer Gavin Miles McInnes.

    https://deadline.com/2022/02/spotifys-joe-rogan-apologizes-for-use-of-n-word-in-clips-circulated-by-india-arie-1234927245/

    1. As a general rule, it’s not a good idea to apologize to the woke. An apology is like blood in the water.

      1. As a principal, when one has erred, it’s typically a good idea to apologize (woke or not). In this case, it’s not the apology that’s caused the issues.

    2. Saw some black comedian from KCMO on from a show recorded in 2003 or 2007. N-word this, N-word that. It seems he couldn’t complete a sentence without using the word. I was like, really? This was a show playing on Starz network. They could have pulled it. They didn’t.

      Also, this guy was talking about the “faggots”. It wasn’t positive. If you start watching movies made before 2010, there are so many times they make fun of gays/queers. Hollywood could pull these movies…but they don’t. They’re still profiting off of them. It’s so hypocritical.

      Some celeb named Awkwafina or something like that is now getting in trouble for “talking black” in the past because she’s Asian. I’m thinking, they have no problem with a man pretending to be a woman and dominating collegiate swimming all the while still dating women and wanting to show his/her junk in the locker room.

      1. The sad part about that story is there are probably people whose minds are so saturated in woke BS that they can justify all that hypocrisy.

        1. That dynamic seems broader than the woke. Some of the same voices that complained about Dave Chappelle’s content changed their tune when he featured content that favored their perspective.

  8. Bravo to Spotify’s CEO! Despite the steady incoming fire, he seems to be handling this well and balancing the varied interests of key stakeholders. Albeit Neil Young’s reaction wasn’t ideal, it may have been a catalyst for dialogue about what’s appropriate public discourse.

    https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/spotify-joe-rogan-daniel-ek-1235087928/

    “There are no words I can say to adequately convey how deeply sorry I am for the way The Joe Rogan Experience controversy continues to impact each of you. Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful – I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company.

    While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more. And I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope. Looking at the issue more broadly, it’s critical thinking and open debate that powers real and necessary progress.

    If we believe in having an open platform as a core value of the company, then we must also believe in elevating all types of creators, including those from underrepresented communities and a diversity of backgrounds. We’ve been doing a great deal of work in this area already but I think we can do even more. So I am committing to an incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups. This will dramatically increase our efforts in these areas.”

      1. Things are indeed getting interesting for Rogan. Seems “Rumble” has offered him an exclusive 100 million dollar opportunity to leave Spotify and join them.

        Hmm…this actually could turn out to be a win/win for all parties involved except Spotify. Rogan could make out well financially, with such a move. All those who wanted him to leave Spotify might be satisfied with such a move. Of course, Spotify could be left holding the bag…especially if the platform continues to bleed market share.

        https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-rumble-conservative-video-youtube-competitor-joe-rogan-2022-2

        CEO Chris Pavlovski said in a letter posted to Twitter. “How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both old and new, with no censorship, for 100 million bucks over four years? This is our chance to save the world. And yes, this is totally legit,”

      2. PS…maybe Spotify should have tired harder to negotiate with Young and Rogan. Their stock had already been slipping but now, as of close of business today, their stock is back down to pre-Rogan levels. This recent controversy can’t be good for them….especially now that the competition smells blood in the water is going after Rogan. Indeed this will be interesting to see how this saga ends up!

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