Joe Rogan is a ‘menace to public health’, doctors claim in letter to Spotify

Hundreds of health experts accuse the service’s top podcaster of spreading “baseless conspiracy theories” about Covid-19

A group of 270 health and science professionals have signed an open letter to the audio streaming service Spotify, demanding a stricter policy on misinformation to combat podcaster Joe Rogan’s alleged Covid “conspiracy theories.”

The letter focuses on the alleged dangers the comedian’s highly influential podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, presents to listeners when he and his various guests discuss topics such as the coronavirus.

“The average age of listeners is 24 years old and, according to data from Washington State, unvaccinated 12- to 34-year-olds are 12 times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid than those who are fully vaccinated,” it states.

It goes on to lambast Rogan for promoting alternatives to Covid vaccines, such as ivermectin, and hosting guests like Dr. Robert Malone, a vaccine critic suspended from Twitter after being accused of spreading misinformation. Clips of Rogan’s interview with Malone were criticized by the medical fraternity following their interview. 


READ MORE: ‘Get the Russian Covid vaccine,’ Joe Rogan told

Hosting guests such as Malone is “medically and culturally dangerous,” the letter declares, warning Spotify that Rogan’s podcast presents a “sociological issue of devastating proportions.”

Epidemiologist Katrine Wallace, of the University of Illinois Chicago, who was among the letter’s signatories, deemed Rogan a “menace to public health.” She accused his podcast of making it “seem there are two sides to the issue and there are really not. The overwhelming evidence is the vaccine works and it is safe.”

Rogan has not said he is anti-vaccine, but has earned plenty of pushback for inviting on to his show a number of Covid vaccine critics, criticizing pandemic-era restrictions, and questioning the US government’s mass vaccination strategy, even for those at low risk of contracting Covid. Rogan himself was diagnosed with coronavirus last year and ignited criticism after openly battling the virus with a “kitchen sink” of medications, including ivermectin. 

The podcaster and Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator speaks to a range of guests on topics ranging from physical fitness to comedy to conspiracy theories, and has remained Spotify’s most popular podcaster since joining the platform last year. 

Spike in proportion of UK babies in hospital with Omicron

Researchers urge calm despite noting the rise in infants infected with Covid’s most contagious variant

Data published on Friday by the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies has warned the percentage of children aged under one in hospital with Covid has risen from 30% to 42% following the outbreak of the Omicron strain.

A study by the Coronavirus Clinical Characterisation Consortium and Covid-19 Clinical Information Network found that, compared with previous waves of the pandemic, there has been a recent sharp rise in the proportion of infants requiring hospital treatment.

One reason proposed is that older children have become eligible and are beginning to be vaccinated, while babies are still ineligible for the jab. However, that was deemed unlikely as there has also been a rise in hospitalizations among the older cohort. Another explanation put forward by the researchers is that younger children have smaller upper airways and Omicron is therefore affecting them more gravely.

Despite the increase in cases, Calum Semple, a professor in child health and outbreak medicine at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, has urged the public to remain calm, as infants are typically experiencing only very mild symptoms.

“I really want to emphasise here the fact that these are not particularly sick infants. In fact, they’re coming in for short periodst of time for investigations,” Semple told UK media.

Read more

Poorer nations reject millions of expiring Covid vaccine doses – UN

Dr. Camilla Kingdon, the president of the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, confirmed this view, stating that medical professionals are not “picking up any signals that are overly concerning.”

Most infants are believed to simply be suffering from a fever and a cough after being infected with Covid, she added.

In Mali, ‘France is paying the price for its own ambiguity,’ expert says

France has increased pressure on Mali’s military junta since the West African regional group ECOWAS enforced tough sanctions on the country over the weekend. With the Malian junta calling for protests on Friday against the sanctions and international pressure, particularly from Paris, the stage is set for increased tension between the two countries. FRANCE 24 discussed the implications with Antoine Glaser, a leading French expert on Africa.

Senior prosecutor praised by Kamala Harris is indicted on federal charges

The vice president encouraged voters to support Marilyn Mosby to help ‘reform’ the criminal justice system

On Thursday, Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, was indicted for perjury and falsifying documents at a time when she alleged she was struggling financially due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mosby, a Democrat who was elected to her position in 2015, claimed on two occasions that she was suffering work-related hardship so as to borrow a total of $90,000 from her retirement account. She used that money to purchase two Florida vacation homes, prosecutors say.

According to the indictment, Mosby exploited a CARES Act provision, allowing an individual to borrow from their retirement account if they were laid off, furloughed, obliged to work reduced hours, or facing financial hardship for some other pandemic-related reason. 

Mosby used some of the money – $36,000 in May 2020 and $45,000 the following December – to make down payments on homes in Longboat Key and Kissimmee, Florida. These payments were made, prosecutors say, while she was earning over $240,000 annually, which was a $10,000 raise on her previous year’s salary. 

The indictment also claims Mosby secured her two $400,000-plus mortgages without disclosing she owed more than $45,000 in federal back taxes. One of the properties purchased was sold for a $150,000 profit in November, according to the Baltimore Sun. 

Read more

Harris sends Americans struggling to get Covid test to Google

The state’s attorney, whose term ends this year, had previously made the national headlines for her progressive politics. She charged police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man, in 2015 after Gray died in police custody. None of the six officers was convicted and critics said Mosby had sought to exploit public anger around the case. 

Soon after the latest dramatic turn in Mosby’s career, some on social media were quick to share footage from 2017 of Vice President Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor herself, praising Mosby’s role in helping “reform” the criminal justice system. 

“She cannot fail, and I know she will not fail,” Harris had said at a fundraiser in Los Angeles.  

Mosby told the Baltimore Sun back then that she wouldn’t have pursued her career had it not been for the “inspiration” she had gained from observing Harris’ trajectory. 

“There would be no Marilyn Mosby without Kamala Harris. When I won [the election for] state’s attorney, Kamala was my inspiration,” she said. 

Mosby’s lawyer claims she is innocent, the target of a smear campaign, and, given it’s just five months until she stands for reelection, that the charges are “rooted in personal, political, and racial animus.”