Latest effort to cancel Joe Rogan is a coordinated media hit job

February 8, 2022

By Ella Carroll-Smith

It all started with allegations that Joe Rogan was spreading “vaccine misinformation.” That was Neil Young’s original reason for pulling his music from Spotify. Young believed Rogan was using his major podcast to spout misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and gave Spotify an ultimatum: Young or Rogan. Spotify, which has $100 million invested in Joe Rogan, chose Rogan. But that wasn’t the end of the story.  

Other musicians, with varying levels of gravitas, quickly followed Young’s lead and also chose to pull their music from Spotify. Then left-wing activists “unearthed” old videos of Rogan using the N-word. Now the entire ordeal has snowballed into mainstream media figureheads like CNN’s Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter calling for Rogan to lose his job.

Some activists are simply calling for Rogan’s cancellation because he hosts too many right-wing guests on his podcast. Though their definition of “right-wing” (which includes people like Tulsi Gabbard, Sam Harris, and Bari Weiss, among others) is a loose one, at best. 

 

What seemingly began as a grassroots movement to deplatform Rogan is now proving to be a coordinated media attack. The first wave was claims of vaccine disinformation, then charges of racism, and now Rogan’s crime is merely hosting guests the left doesn’t like. 

This current push to cancel Rogan has gained far more traction than past cancellation campaigns. Attacks against Rogan are now coming from all directions: musicians, actors, news anchors, and left-wing activists are all banding together. In further evidence that this is a coordinated hit job, the “activists” who compiled the now-viral compilation video of Rogan saying the N-word actually appear to be funded by a Democratic Super-PAC. 

What also sets this cancellation attempt apart from those that preceded it is the fact that it’s having an effect. Rogan has already apologized twice. While Spotify is standing by Rogan for the time being, CEO Daniel Ek issued a formal apology to his employees for the “hurt” Rogan’s words have caused them. Spotify has also quietly removed 113 episodes of Rogan’s show. 

The mainstream media has wished to cancel Rogan for a long time now. There have been many attempts in the past, even as recent as last year when CNN lied about Rogan taking horse dewormer when he chose to take Ivermectin after being diagnosed with COVID-19. 

The left doesn’t really wish to cancel Rogan because of alleged vaccine misinformation or racist remarks. Democrats from Ralph Northam to Jimmy Kimmel have worn blackface in the past and faced little more than a slap on the wrist. They’re allowed to keep their jobs because they toe the party line, but Rogan is a free thinker. 

Rogan says what he wants, he speaks to controversial people, and he goes against the mainstream media narrative. That’s why his podcast has become so popular. Rogan boasts far more viewers than networks like CNN and MSNBC, which is exactly why said networks and the mainstream media at large want him canceled: because he can’t be controlled and he’s detrimental to their bottom line. 

 

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