Spotify's Joe Rogan saga spotlights podcast moderation challenges

FILE PHOTO: Joe Rogan's Spotify profile is seen in front of displayed Spotify logo in this photo illustration taken, February 7, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - At an ad industry conference in New York this month, one of the key architects of Spotify's podcasting strategy outlined what she saw as the biggest challenge facing platforms: how to moderate content.

Chief Content Officer Dawn Ostroff, the television veteran who had helped bring U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan and other top talent to Spotify, had been asked about the backlash to COVID-19 misinformation spread on his podcast as Neil Young and other artists yanked their music in protest. She said companies faced a "dilemma of moderation versus censorship" and there was "no silver bullet."