October 5, 2022

Why Is Spotify Still Allowing White Supremacists On Its Platform?

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Spotify has a white supremacist problem. The music-streaming platform has become an attraction point for racist and discriminatory podcasts that have garnered widespread popularity over recent months. 

The ADL is a Jewish nonprofit group focusing on civil rights law. In a recent investigation, they found that approximately 40 white supremacist artists are currently on the platform. 

As a result, the ADL is calling for Spotify to stop the hate speech and harmful content currently circulating on its app. The organization believes they are yet to discover all the white supremacist content circulating the platform despite investigating, leaving it up to Spotify to ensure all content is removed ultimately.    

The organization’s recent report also highlighted how quickly these supremacist platforms became certified, ultimately opening a door for users to consume other white supremacist content. 

“Despite adding explicit anti-extremist guidelines to their content policy, Spotify allows extremist content to flourish,” ADL said in a report

“Between the extremist content found in some artists’ bios, the white supremacist messaging in some band’s lyrics, and the white supremacist imagery found in the cover art, Spotify still has considerable work to do in implementing its new policy.” 

ADL’s findings concluded how easy it is for music to become a gateway for racist and discriminatory platforms to exist on Spotify and reach a wider audience, with some songs even sampling Hitler’s voice. 

In response, Spotify’s spokesperson said: “When we become aware of potentially violating content on our platform, our teams carefully review that content against our policies and take the appropriate action.” 

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Kumba Kpakima

Kumba Kpakima is a reporter at POCIT. A documentary about the knife crime epidemic in the UK got her a nomination for the UK's #30toWatch Young Journalists of the Year.