How are people talking about Spotify removing Neil Young’s music after artist’s ultimatum about Joe Rogan’s show?
~3 minute listen
Earlier this week, folk singer Neil Young said he refused to stream his music on the same platform used by talk show host Joe Rogan, due to the information Rogan shares about COVID-19. As a result, Spotify removed Young’s music from its platform while continuing to stream Rogan’s show.
Below, we break down how the left and right view this event based on the information and values they use to interpret it.
What else is each side focusing on?
- Joe Rogan spreads disinformation on his show.
- Neil Young is an iconic artist who will continue to enjoy long term success.
- Everyone should be allowed to express their point of view without restrictions.
- Spotify streams a lot of content which is much worse than Joe Rogan’s show.
The Narrative
Neil Young took a stance for truth and public health and against Spotify’s spread of disinformation for profit – more artists should do the same.
The right is hypocritical in calling Young’s move cancel culture while trying to remove books about the Holocaust from school curricula.
The left is completely misunderstanding the situation when they claim Spotify canceled Young. In reality, the company didn’t cancel anyone.
Spotify refused to bow to Young’s bullying and the left’s shameless attempt to cancel Rogan.
How could a reasonable person come to think this?
Disinformation is a real threat to society, and tech platforms must do more to counter false narratives that harm society.
The left is trying to silence conservative voices in favor of their own biased, false narrative. We must stand up for free speech!
What does each side see as fact?
- Joe Rogan spreads disinformation on his show.
- Neil Young is an iconic artist who will continue to enjoy long term success.
- Everyone should be allowed to express their point of view without restrictions.
- Spotify streams a lot of content which is much worse than Joe Rogan’s show.
The Narrative
Neil Young took a stance for truth and public health and against Spotify’s spread of disinformation for profit – more artists should do the same.
The right is hypocritical in calling Young’s move cancel culture while trying to remove books about the Holocaust from school curricula.
The left is completely misunderstanding the situation when they claim Spotify canceled Young. In reality, the company didn’t cancel anyone.
Spotify refused to bow to Young’s bullying and the left’s shameless attempt to cancel Rogan.
How could a reasonable person believe this?
Disinformation is a real threat to society, and tech platforms must do more to counter false narratives that harm society.
The left is trying to silence conservative voices in favor of their own biased, false narrative. We must stand up for free speech!
Debates around cancel culture and free speech are complicated, and often focus on the tension between stopping the spread of (what one side sees as) harmful or false information and protecting freedom of speech. Neither side is necessarily against either, but when there is conflict between these two values, we’re forced to prioritize one over the other.
As such, people on both the left and the right use their prior ideas about cancel culture and COVID-19 misinformation to interpret this story. This natural process of placing new information within a pre-existing narrative helps us make sense of the world, but also makes us inclined to interpret the new information in a way that confirms what we already believe, rather than evaluating new information on its own merit.
By being aware that this happens automatically in our brains, we can better understand how other people can reach distinct conclusions about the same conflict. Just as we bring our own values and worldviews into the conversation, our contra partisans do too.