Spotify has pulled selected episodes of a podcast hosted by Alex Jones, after receiving widespread criticism on social media.
The streaming service was recently blasted for providing the far-right conspiracy theorist with a platform. Many users expressed their objections on the Spotify community board, threatening to cancel their subscriptions of the streaming service if they continued to feature The Alex Jones Show.
“I cannot fathom why Spotify would lend a platform to a man who has instigated violence, paranoia, and hatred against innocent people,” one user wrote. “Not to mention the pain he has publicly caused families of dead children, who have had to hide from threats from this vile mans dreck. Other more ethical businesses are quickly walking away from these sick people. I will cancel my subscription and use YouTube instead.”
A suggestion to remove Jones’ shows received more than 1,700 likes as of Wednesday night. In wake of the outcry, Spotify announced it has deleted certain broadcasts of The Alex Jones Show for violating its hate speech policy.
“We take reports of hate content seriously and review any podcast episode or song that is flagged by our community,” a spokeswoman told Variety. “Spotify can confirm it has removed specific episodes of ‘The Alex Jones Show’ podcast for violating our hate content policy.”
Spotify’s decision was announced about a week after YouTube took down four videos from Jones’ channel, and threatened to delete his personal account if he received two more “strikes” within a 90-day period. Facebook pulled a similar move several days later, removing several of Jones’ videos and handing him a 30-day suspension for violating its community standards.
“Our Community Standards make it clear that we prohibit content that encourages physical harm [bullying], or attacks someone based on their religious affiliation or gender identity [hate speech],” Facebook said in a statement.
Jones has become one of the most notorious figures within the far-right sect, known primarily for his hateful political rhetoric, as well as propagating bat-shit conspiracy theories. Jones is currently facing a lawsuit filed by parents of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. The plaintiffs are suing Jones for defamation, after he peddle the false belief that the massacre was a hoax.
