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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
What the Joe Rogan podcast controversy1 says about the online misinformation ecosystem3
An open letter urging Spotify to crack down on COVID-19 misinformation has gained the signatures of more than a thousand doctors, scientists and health professionals spurred by growing concerns over anti-vaccine rhetoric5 on the audio app's hit podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.
The medical and scientific experts slammed Rogan's track record of airing false claims about the coronavirus pandemic, vaccines6 and unproven treatments, calling it "a sociological issue of devastating7 proportions." Spotify, they say, has enabled him.
While audio apps so far have escaped the scrutiny8 that has befallen social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, the pressure on Spotify illustrates9 how podcasts have emerged as an influential10 source of misinformation.
In a December episode of his podcast, Rogan interviewed Dr. Robert Malone, a scientist who worked on early research into the mRNA technology behind top COVID-19 vaccines, but who is now critical of the mRNA vaccines.
Malone made baseless and disproven claims, including falsely stating that getting vaccinated11 puts people who already have had COVID-19 at higher risk.
The episode immediately raised alarm bells for Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago's School of Public Health, who signed the letter. She is part of a community of experts who debunk12 medical misinformation on social media, and she says she received hundreds of messages from followers13 about Rogan's Malone interview.
"Their friends and family were sending it to them as evidence that the vaccines are dangerous and that they shouldn't get it," she said. "It provides a sense of false balance, like there's two sides to the scientific evidence when, really, there is not. The overwhelming evidence is that the vaccines are safe and that they're effective."
Rogan's reach worries health experts
Wallace was particularly worried because Rogan, a stand-up comedian14 and TV personality, has such a big audience. While Spotify does not disclose how many people listen, his show ranked as the platform's most popular podcast globally for the last two years. And he's worth a lot to the company: In 2020, he signed an exclusive licensing15 deal with Spotify reportedly worth $100 million.
"We are in a global health emergency, and streaming platforms like Spotify that provide content to the public have a responsibility not to add to the problem," Wallace said.
It wasn't the first time Rogan or his guests have floated dubious16 or outright17 false information about the pandemic. He has claimed young and healthy people don't need COVID-19 vaccines. He has promoted taking ivermectin as a treatment, which the Food and Drug Administration has warned against.
Wallace and the other letter signers are not asking Spotify to kick Rogan off its platform. But they want the company to be more transparent18 about its rules, do more to moderate misinformation and make it easier to flag these kinds of baseless claims.
Spotify declined to comment to NPR. It has previously19 said it bans "dangerous false, deceptive20, or misleading content about COVID-19 that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health."
The company says it has taken down 20,000 podcast episodes for breaking that policy since the start of the pandemic. It has also taken down other episodes of Rogan's show, including an interview with conspiracy21 theorist Alex Jones. But Rogan's Malone interview is still available.
Last year, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told Axios that the company does not take responsibility for what Rogan or his guests say. He compared the podcaster to "really well-paid rappers" on Spotify, saying, "We don't dictate22 what they're putting in their songs, either."
Rogan did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
Researchers say scrutiny of podcasts is overdue23
Misinformation researchers say it was only a matter of time until the spotlight24 turned to podcasts.
"Wherever you have users generating content, you're going to have all of the same content moderation issues and controversies25 that you have in any other space," said Evelyn Douek, a research fellow at Columbia University's Knight26 First Amendment27 Institute.
So why haven't podcasts gotten the same kind of attention as social networks?
For one thing, it's a fragmented medium. Podcasts exist across lots of different platforms and apps.
Douek says it's also harder to ferret out falsehoods and hate speech in podcasts compared with posts written on Facebook and Twitter.
But audio can be a powerful way to spread misinformation because of all the qualities that make the format2 so compelling to listeners, said Valerie Wirtschafter, a senior data analyst28 at the Brookings Institution.
"The podcaster is in your ear," she said. "It's a really unique relationship in that respect, and so the podcaster gains a level of authority and a level of credibility among listeners."
Wirtschafter says as more people become aware of how misinformation spreads online, audio deserves the same scrutiny as social media.
She has studied how the "Big Lie" that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump29 spread on political podcasts in the lead-up to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She found that half the episodes of the most popular shows released between Election Day and Jan. 6, 2021, contained misleading or false claims about voter fraud and election integrity.
"We're not talking about fringe ideas," she said. "These are the most popular podcasts in the United States."
收听单词发音 |
1
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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format
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| n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排 | |
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3
ecosystem
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| n.生态系统 | |
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transcript
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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vaccines
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| 疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 ) | |
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devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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illustrates
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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vaccinated
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| [医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的 | |
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12
debunk
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| v.揭穿真相，暴露 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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comedian
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| n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员 | |
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licensing
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| v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 ) | |
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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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22
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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overdue
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| adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的 | |
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spotlight
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| n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目 | |
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controversies
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| 争论 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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28
analyst
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| n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家 | |
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29
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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