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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Shanti Das

‘Don’t take the damn thing’: how Spotify playlists push dangerous anti-vaccine tunes

Rapper Remeece, whose music was on Spotify, at an anti-vaccine rally in October 2021
Rapper Remeece, whose music was on Spotify, at an anti-vaccine rally in October 2021. Photograph: Martin Pope/Getty Images

Songs that claim Covid-19 is fake and describe the vaccines as “poison” are being actively promoted to Spotify users in playlists generated by its content recommendation engine.

Tracks found on the world’s largest music streaming service explicitly encourage people not to get vaccinated and say those who do are “slaves”, “sheep”, and victims of Satan. Others call for an uprising, urging listeners to “fight for your life”.

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