Joe Rogan Might Leave Spotify For Rumble, A Right-Wing Social Media Company

Joe Rogan, host of the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, hosted exclusively on Spotify, has been the centre of a long-running controversy over misinformation relating to the COVID-19 vaccine, prompting the CEO of Rumble to make Rogan a generous offer.

What’s the Controversy?

The controversy was sparked after musician Neil Young requested that Spotify stop hosting his music, in protest against the pandemic misinformation regularly flowing out of Rogan’s podcast.

As the storm of bad publicity intensified, a video montage of Rogan saying racial slurs, composed from old clips of the podcast, went viral, promoting Spotify to remove 113 past episodes of the podcast, for reasons that included “racially insensitive language.”

The controversy has morphed into a familiar “free speech” debate (which reached absurd heights on Twitter), as the removal of problematic material from Spotify has been viewed by a segment of Rogan’s fans as an act of censorship.

When Spotify first integrated The Joe Rogan Experience onto the platform, some of the most controversial episodes of the podcast were removed, sparking similar complaints.

What Did Rumble Offer?

Rumble, a video-hosting site that aims to expand into a rival to YouTube, offered Rogan $100 million (over 4 years) to jump ship from Spotify and host his complete, uncensored library of shows on Rumble.

Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski told Rogan in a statement posted to the platform’s Twitter account that they “stand with you, your guests, and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation”.

“So we’d like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place. 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,” he added.

It’s unclear whether this is a publicity stunt from Rumble, or a “legit” offer – $100 million is the same amount of money Spotify paid Rogan for their 2020 exclusivity deal. But it’s clear that the long-running controversy has generated an incalculable amount of free publicity for Rogan, marking his podcast as a valuable piece of territory in the neverending culture war.

What is Rumble?  

“Rumble is designed to be the rails and independent infrastructure that is immune to cancel culture,” Pavlovski said. “We are a movement that does not stifle, censor or punish creativity and believe everyone benefits from access to a neutral network with diverse ideas and opinions.”

While still a relatively small platform, Rumble is beginning to expand, reporting record user engagement and video uploads for January 2022; the site has also received backing from billionaire Peter Thiel, so presumably boasts deep pockets.

Rumble frames itself as a haven for free speech, but is widely viewed as a right-wing social media company; if Rogan chooses to jump ship, he will join figures such as “QAnon congresswoman” Marjorie Taylor Greene, as well as former U.S. President Donald Trump. 

Researchers have found Rumble to be a hub of misinformation and conspiracy theories, especially regarding the COVID-19 pandemic; the video-hosting platform has been described as “the worst possible things about YouTube amplified.”

Will Rogan Move to Rumble? 

Possibly – Rogan has spoken positively about the site before. On an October 2021 episode of his podcast, Rogan stated:

“As long as places like Rumble exist, you know, and I think they’re going to grow … I’m not over there, but I certainly would be.”

Rogan likely wouldn’t face nearly the same level of scrutiny on Rumble as he does on Spotify; his controversy might die down entirely, after critics realize that Rumble isn’t receptive to complaints. 

But moving to the platform, if he chooses to do so, is likely to exacerbate Rogan’s shift toward the right, as he fully enters the right-wing ecosystem.

The question is, how far will his audience follow him?