Spotify Censors Marginalised Voices

Enough is Enough. CAMPAIGN to #ReleaseMAAJID on the Joe Rogan Show

Feb 10

The Radical Dispatch

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Please share this now tagging @Spotify and their CEO Daniel Eks @eldsjal asking them to liberate @JoeRogan from censorship using the hashtag #FreeMAAJID

Spotify Censors Marginalised Voices

Enough is Enough. CAMPAIGN to #ReleaseMAAJID on the Joe Rogan Show

Please sign this petition to build a base of anti-censorship pro-free speech voices to support all marginalised and censored voices

1) Spotify have removed over 100 episodes of the Joe Rogan show?

Enough is enough. Let’s start a free speech campaign.

Readers will recall from a previous Radical Dispatch - My Episode, Joe Rogan and the Streisand Effect - we were concerned that the pressure to cancel Rogan could mount to such an extent that my episode with him remains unreleased. With the bastions of old establishment power, the White House, the Obama’s and even Prince Harry and Megan all intervening against him. We feared the worst.

Since then, the dogs were unleashed and Joe Rogan was accused of racism, using a distorted mashup of old video clips. Such was the pressure that Rogan felt he needed to issue his second apology in a week. By now, the website JRE missing, lists 113 old interviews as missing from the Joe Rogan Experience.

Distinct from all of these is the frustrating fact that my episode with him, recorded two weeks ago in Austin Texas, for which I flew out specifically, remains to my knowledge the only JRE show never be released.

What could I have possible said to be that dangerous?

2) Hypocritical Spotify and their virtue signalling staff

Three days ago, in an attempt to calm the waters, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced measures to placate the mob. One eye catching measure was that he intended to invest £100 million to go towards what he called “historically marginalised groups”. Do Spotify’s staff and their CEO Daniel Ek think that I am the wrong type of marginalised voice? Am I the wrong type of Muslim? Why have they completely silenced only my episode?

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

“Spotify will also commit $100m (£74m) for the licensing, development, & marketing of music & AUDIO CONTENT from HISTORICALLY MARGINALISED GROUPS” Hi Daniel Ek @eldsjal 👋🏽 I assume that I qualify, please release my @joerogan episode bbc.com/news/entertain…

Joe Rogan: Podcast is staying on Spotify says bossRogan’s racial slurs on podcast condemned by Daniel Ek, who says silencing him is “not the answer”.bbc.com

Let me get this straight. I am an Amnesty International adopted Prisoner of Conscience who was held in Egypt during the War on Terror, and subjected to witnessing torture. I have faced violent racism my entire life and carry those scars. I have just mysteriously lost my broadcasting job after opposing covid mandates and I am a long time sufferer of shadow banning and suffocation on social media. Yet somehow, I do not qualify as a ‘marginalised voice’ for Daniel Ek and Spotify?

Mr Ek will have listened to the episode that his company refuse to release. In it, I begin by recounting my life facing violent racist attacks. I then recall my subsequent turn towards an Islamist revolutionary movement, and my time spent as a prisoner in Egypt - where I was injected against my will. I go on to talk to Joe about my change of heart, move towards a more accepting message and my work to counter intolerant forms of thinking. I continue then to my many criticisms of the War on Terror, including my demand that Guantanamo Bay close down and that we stop supporting the arbitrary detention of family’s of militants held in prisons under our control in Syria and elsewhere. After that, I explain why this same backstory inspired my campaign against Covid mandates, while I told him that I am double-jabbed. It’s not too hard to fathom the intellectual leap from opposing arbitrary state power in the War on Terror and arbitrary state power in the form of Covid mandates.

I then explain when and how I went on a 4 day hunger strike to raise awareness for the Uyghur genocide in China. I spoke about how that campaign contributed to a beautiful moment, helping to spread awareness and recognition around the world about the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China and other minorities. From there I expressed my concerns around the Chinese Communist Party’s continued influence on our politics and culture, including on lockdown and other Covid mandates. Finally, I ended by mentioning my recent and mysterious dismissal from my own radio show from the UK’s largest commercial radio station, and my being silenced about all of the above by Big Tech. We spoke for three hours. And Joe has told me he that he thought it was “fantastic”.

I have had my job ended, my platforms suffocated and now my voice silenced. I am not asking for anything but fair and equal treatment. Spotify’s “liberal” staff should be deeply ashamed of their role in my continued mistreatment. I have no choice remaining but to fight back.

Here I am suffocated on Twitter:

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

My replies are full of people saying this. Please try these workarounds: 1) go to my profile & turn on ‘notifications’ for all tweets (as per image) 2) directly tag anyone you wish to alert to any relevant tweets 3) manually visit my timeline regularly to read my tweets

Tommy Osborne @tommyoz02

@MaajidNawaz I don’t see @MaajidNawaz tweets no more 🤷🏼‍♂️

And here I am suffocated on Facebook’s Instagram:

This last one, CEO of Theil Capital my friend Eric Weinstein, has observed in dismay:

Eric Weinstein @EricRWeinstein

I unsubscribed from my friend @MaajidNawaz so I could resubscribe to show you this: the “New Scarlet Letter” system. From FaceBook! “Are you *sure* you want to be friends w/ your friends? Really Eric? Maajid Nawaz?? We are very disappointed in you Eric.” On what %#*$ing planet.

Eric Weinstein @EricRWeinstein

And a brief message to Mark Zuckerberg: fuck off.

Yes. Quite.

3) What else is on Spotify, while I remain censored?

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

This year, remember those who stood against high winds to defend your liberty with nothing to gain & everything to lose And remember the cowards who capitulated & surrendered your traditions, rights & culture to corporate predators by subjecting you to mass psychological attack.

There’s Bill Cosby for one, who admitted to drugging women before raping them. But got released on a technicality because his immunity making that confession was deemed valid. Nice one, Spotify.

Then there’s the convicted and imprisoned child sex offender R Kelly.

And the murderer Charles Manson. Sure. But go after only my appearance on Rogan. Do I scare you that much?

How about the convicted murderer, the late music producer Phil Spector. Does he not offend you? Or do you just like his music?

I’m just going to leave this here:

ZUBY: @ZubyMusic

There is more outrage over Joe Rogan than Ghislaine Maxwell.

4) So why, you may ask, is the hypocrisy so strong with Spotify?

You have probably worked it out by now. This is not about ‘disinformation’ and it certainly is not about ‘racism’ and hypocritically signalling a support for marginalised voices. This is about power. Just follow the money.

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

"The top owner of Spotify is also the top owner of Moderna" pharmaceuticals. Dr. Robert Malone on @TuckerCarlson. Is this why @Spotify CEO Daniel Eks @eldsjal won’t approve my episode with @joerogan, the ONLY one to remain unreleased? #ReleaseMAAJID

Who owns Spotify? Ballie Gifford & Co (BG&C) is an investment management company from Scotland. BG&C owns 11% of Spotify and 11% of Pharmaceutical giant Moderna, creators of the second most famous Covid vaccine.

Does China influence Spotify?

Spotify and Tencent: Spotify received a 9% share of Tencent Music Entertainment Group while Tencent received a 7.5% stake in Spotify, though between Tencent and Tencent Music, the two affiliated companies would eventually own about 9% of Spotify, which currently makes them the Swedish firm’s third-largest shareholder.

But who has the final say?

Did my views on China, the Uyghur genocide and the CCP’s ‘elite capture’ of our politicians and institutions, and the political and technological connection in how the Uyghur were surveilled and how we in the West were locked down during Covid, scare Spotify’s CEO and backers?

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

Elite Capture: DRAIN the SWAMP British using Chinese CCTV linked to repression of Uighurs “Schools, councils, police forces and government departments are using Chinese surveillance cameras linked to the repression of Uighurs” #TAGG

British using Chinese CCTV linked to repression of UighursSchools, councils, police forces and government departments are using Chinese surveillance cameras linked to the repression of Uighurs, data shared with The Times shows.thetimes.co.uk

So who launched the campaign?

The attack on Joe Rogan appears to be a planned and professional media smear. The Free Press Report over on Substack has their view.

Read on:

Wokal Distance @wokal_distance

1/ Since you asked, and I love your work, I'll tell you. This is a professional political attack. Three waves one right after the other is not a coincidence. Good spacing, good timing, so it's absolutely professional. But who was it you ask? That takes some digging but...

Andrew Schulz 👑HEZI @andrewschulz

Who y’all think is behind this attack on Rogan?

Wokal Distance @wokal_distance

2/ The video compilation of Rogan saying the n-word was dropped by @patriottakes 6 days ago. You see the video in the tweet in pic 1, and patriottakes takes credit for "republishing" the information in pic 2. That they take credit is important and you'll see why shortly...

Wokal Distance @wokal_distance

3/ As you can see in their bio, @patriottakes is partnered with @MeidasTouch. And this is where it gets interesting. Who is Meidastouch? Well, they are a professional political organization. In fact, they are a Democrat "Super PAC" (more on that in a moment) run by 3 brothers

Wokal Distance @wokal_distance

4/ Ben, Brett, and Jordan Meisales. All of them have worked in media and have expertise in understanding and manipulating Media. The most important thing for us is that Brett was a social media manager for Ellen Degeneres, and is an expert editor. Which matter because...

Wokal Distance @wokal_distance

16/ If everyone won't stand up, we need brave leople to lead organic pushback. @BretWeinstein has been doing this with his "thanks Joe Rogan" hashtage Finally...

Bret Weinstein 🇨🇦🚛🚚🚛🚚 @BretWeinstein

Joe Rogan is taking flak because he’s over the target. I support him for the same reason every other person who understands the relationship between a free exchange of ideas and liberty supports him. #ThanksJoeRogan

5) Rogan and race:

As an aside, Trevor Noah decided to wade in on the Rogan and racism debate. He couldn’t help himself. If you were to watch the clip, it sounds convincing (it isn’t). He also wrongfully edits Rogan’s apology, as well as conveniently leaving out the fact that Noah has done exactly what he criticised Rogan for here:

The Daily Show @TheDailyShow

“When Joe Rogan says, ‘I wasn't being racist. I was just being entertaining.’ - No, Joe, I think you were using racism to try to be entertaining.” -Trevor unpacks Rogan's N-word and Planet of the Apes apologies

So here are some of Trevor Noah’

And here is Trevor Noah asking people to contextualise him in such circumstances:

And here is Joe Rogan actually defending Noah when this exact same controversy was sparked the other way around:

The CTO of Tablet Magazine had some strong words for Noah over this hypocrisy:

Noam Blum @neontaster

You piece of fucking shit @Trevornoah

The Daily Show @TheDailyShow

Indeed.

Other black voices have pointed out the same:

Coleman Hughes @coldxman

Joe Rogan is simply not a racist. In fact I would go as far as to say this: if everyone in the world possessed Joe Rogan's attitude toward race, his openness of mind, and his diverse set of friends, then we would be living in the world that MLK dreamed of.

And here’s a column by a black writer who’s tired of “anti-racist” elites telling him what to think about free speech.

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

“I am becoming used to a different kind of insult. This one is more likely to come from “anti-racist” elites than from the angry white men I’m supposed to be scared of” Adam Coleman @wrong_speak PS: Daniel Ek @eldsjal please #ReleaseMAAJID on @joerogan

Don’t use black Americans to cancel Joe RoganI remember the first time I was called the N-word. I was eight years old and my white neighbour called me it out of frustration during a basketball game. I was barely old enough to grasp the impact of that word but knew it came from a place of anger. I don’t remember any other [...]Read More...unherd.com

6) Campaign to protect free speech:

Back to the topic, matters around free speech have simply gotten out of hand. There will be no end to this madness unless a line is drawn and we begin to fight back. President Trump has waded in correctly here:

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

Trump wades in on the @joerogan issue What has become of us? All this over…speech on a podcast Dear @Spotify CEO Daniel El @eldsjal Please publish my unreleased episode. It’s the only one NEVER to be released Biden & Trump, I criticise EVERYONE fairly in it #ReleaseMAAJID

But Glenn Greenwald explains how censorship works the best:

Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald

Censorship is a weapon of the powerful, not of the marginalized. The marginalized are, by definition, always its targets. The core purpose of censorship is to shield majoritarian sentiments from being questioned or challenged. Only power centers have the capacity to censor.

Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald

The converse is just as true: free speech is a weapon of the marginalized, not the powerful. Those whose views are institutionalized in majoritarian power centers don't need free speech protections. Those views are never targeted. Only the marginalized need free speech rights.

I’ll leave you all, and Joe, with some great advice, by him and for him:

“the thing is, if you censor yourself just 1%, you say ‘I’ll just censor myself 1% if that’s what they want I wanna make them happy’, and then they’re just gonna keep moving it, they’re gonna just keep moving it forward, moving the goalposts and providing you with more money and giving you more things, and keep moving it in a certain direction, and if you keep giving into it, they’re gonna have a hold on you, and they can control you” Joe Rogan on the JRE

Maajid أبو عمّار @MaajidNawaz

Hey @joerogan you were right here, brother. No retreat. No surrender Wings of steel. #RESIST

7) CAMPAIGN OF ACTION: what to do?

There are a few things you can all do immediately:

A) Please sign this petition to build a base of anti-censorship pro-free speech voices to support all marginalised and censored voices

B) Please send this article tagging @Spotify and their CEO Daniel Eks @eldsjal asking them to liberate @JoeRogan from censorship using the hashtag #FreeMAAJID. Share via the button below:

Please share this now tagging @Spotify and their CEO Daniel Eks @eldsjal asking them to liberate @JoeRogan from censorship using the hashtag #FreeMAAJID

3) I have partnered with GETTR to begin this free speech campaign. We have just announced it here.

I will be posting exclusive live updates via my GETTR account here. Please follow and repost.

4) Please subscribe to my Odysee video channel that will host my podcast addressing this free speech issue and other issues going forward.

5) I have also today initiated legal proceedings against my former company Global’s LBC. I will update all on how that goes.

6) I am in legal conversations with my lawyers to take defamation action against Meta’s Instagram. I will update on this too.

Thank you all and #Solidarity. Please share the shit out of this post. Let’s do this.

Please share this now tagging @Spotify and their CEO Daniel Eks @eldsjal asking them to liberate @JoeRogan from censorship using the hashtag #FreeMAAJID

Radical Media - by Maajid Nawaz

Spotify Censors Marginalised Voices

Enough is Enough. CAMPAIGN to #ReleaseMAAJID on the Joe Rogan Show

The Radical Dispatch

Spotify Censors Marginalised Voices

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