Spotify streams podcasts with antisemitism, racism and white supremacist material according to investigation
An investigation has found antisemitic, racist and white supremacist material in podcasts on one of the most popular streaming services, Spotify.
An exclusive inquiry by Sky News found podcasts totalling several days’ worth of listening promoting extreme views such as scientific racism, Holocaust denial and far-right antisemitic conspiracy theories.
The type of content varied: from material buried within hours of podcasts, others were more overt, with album artwork showing imagery adopted by white supremacists.
In response to the findings, a Spotify spokesperson said: “Spotify prohibits content on our platform which expressly and principally advocates or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual based on characteristics, including, race, religion, gender identity, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability.
“The content in question has been removed for violating our Hate Content policy.”
The platform does allow users to report material that violates their guidelines, but Spotify said it is developing new monitoring technology to identify material that has been flagged as hate content on some international registers.