Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have expressed their "concerns" to Spotify over alleged COVID misinformation after the Joe Rogan podcast controversy hit the streaming giant.
In a statement released on Sunday, the couple said they had spoken to Spotify bosses about misinformation on the streaming platform.
In a tweet shared by Harper's Bazaar Royal Editor Omid Scobie, an Archewell Foundation spokesperson said the couple hoped Spotify could "address this public health crisis."
The statement read: "Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis. 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.
"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."
In light of the ongoing controversy surrounding @Spotify’s continued support of Joe Rogan, whose podcast has spread proven misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccine efficacy, a spokesperson for Archewell (Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s foundation) says: pic.twitter.com/MZE7RqTNxY
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) January 30, 2022
Harry and Meghan signed a multi-year deal with Spotify where they agreed to produce content for the company under the brand Archewell Audio, according to Sky News.
While the couple is believed to have signed a lucrative deal to produce podcasts exclusively on Spotify, they have only released one full-length holiday special back in 2020.
Newsweek has contacted Joe Rogan, Spotify and the Archewell Foundation for comment.
Harry and Meghan's statement through its foundation comes as The Joe Rogan Experience host found his show at the center of a public spat between rock legend Neil Young and Spotify.
Young wrote to Spotify's management on Monday and said he wanted all his music removed from the platform after he said Rogan was promoting vaccine misinformation on his podcast.
He said: "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."
But Spotify, which has 172 million subscribers, sided with Rogan who fronts the Sweden-based company's most-streamed podcast in 2021.
In a Wednesday statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter, a Spotify spokesperson said: "With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place and we've removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID since the start of the pandemic
"We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."
Another music legend, Joni Mitchell, wrote on Friday in support of Young and also asked to be removed from the streaming platform.
Following Spotify's decision to back Rogan, hundreds of people have claimed they would be terminating their subscription.
Medical experts have expressed concern about misinformation on Spotify and mentioned The Joe Rogan Experience for "promoting baseless conspiracy theories."
In an open letter to Spotify, the medical experts called on the company to implement a misinformation policy.
