In reaction to the uproar over Covid disinformation, Spotify has made several modifications.

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Spotify paid attention to Neil Young's words. Toru Yamanaka/AFP via Getty Images

Not on Spotify, though. After Young and other artists removed their content from the platform over its distribution of Covid-19 misinformation, Spotify responded yesterday with a number of steps intended to calm the growing storm. It’s adding a label to any podcast episode that discusses Covid-19, and providing a link to its Covid information hub. It’s also publishing its previously hidden misinformation policies. What are they? Spotify said it will ban content that “promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health.” That includes claims that Covid-19 is a hoax and the idea that Covid vaccines are designed to cause death. “We have had rules in place for many years but admittedly, we haven’t been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote in a blog post. How we got here Last week, Neil Young asked Spotify to remove his music largely due to its deal with ultra-popular podcaster Joe Rogan, who’s been skeptical of Covid vaccines and has hosted guests who’ve pushed Covid conspiracy theories. A small but growing number of artists followed his lead. Legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell pulled her music from Spotify “in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities.” Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren joined the artist boycott, and bestselling author Brené Brown said she’s not releasing any podcasts “until further notice.” Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who’ve inked a $25 million podcast deal with the platform, have been “expressing concerns” to Spotify about Covid misinformation on the platform, according to a spokesperson. Zoom out: Spotify wants to be known as a “neutral platform” that allows a variety of ideas to run freely without censorship. But as observers like Hunter Walk have pointed out, the company’s relationship with Joe Rogan doesn’t really fit this narrative. When Spotify struck its exclusive deal with Rogan, it decided to treat Rogan as a strategic business partner rather than any random podcaster who throws their content on the platform. So it’s not clear whether Spotify’s recent changes will silence its critics—Rogan, for one, isn’t going anywhere. None of his podcast episodes have violated Spotify’s Covid misinformation rules, a spokesperson said.