- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
Spotify CEO says won't silence Rogan over racial slur
The head of music streaming giant Spotify Daniel Ek has condemned podcaster Joe Rogan's use of a racial slur but insisted that silencing him was not the answer.
Ek's comments, made in a letter to staff obtained by AFP on Monday, mark the latest development in an ongoing row over the streaming service and its flagship star, who has recently faced a torrent of criticism over Covid-19 misinformation on his podcast.
On Saturday, Rogan apologised for his past use of racist language, including the "N word", and addressed what he called "the most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly," after a compilation video of him using the term surfaced.
"While I strongly condemn what Joe has said... I want to make one point very clear –- I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer," Ek wrote in the letter.
"We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but cancelling voices is a slippery slope."
Ek added that he agreed with Rogan's decision to remove past episodes of his show from the platform, while stressing that even though Spotify has an exclusive licensing agreement with him the company was not his publisher.
In addition, Ek added that Spotify was committing "an incremental investment of $100 million" for "music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalised groups."
Rogan himself said his use of the "N word" over a 12-year period -- highlighted in the compilation video -- looked "horrible, even to me."
He said he believed at the time that as long as he was using the word in context that people would understand his actions.
"I never used it to be racist, because I'm not racist," he said.
Spotify's stock fell sharply Thursday amid controversy over Rogan's show, which garners up to 11 million listeners per episode.
The row follows on the heels of music legends Neil Young and Joni Mitchell as well as other artists asking that their songs be removed from the platform in protest against Rogan, who has been accused of spouting misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccinations, either directly or through the guests he interviews on his show.
In response Spotify announced in late January that it would add advisories to any podcast episode discussing Covid-19 which would direct listeners to a "dedicated Covid-19 Hub" with facts and up-to-date information from scientists and public health authorities.
A.Santos--PC