Self-identified avid Joe Rogan fans are unvaccinated against COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate as Americans who aren't fans, according to a newly released poll.
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A Morning Consult Survey of 4,420 American adults found that 45% of respondents who considered themselves "avid fans" of Joe Rogan, embattled host of the Spotify-exclusive "Joe Rogan Experience," weren't vaccinated against the coronavirus. Twenty-five percent of respondents who didn't identify as fans, meanwhile, were unvaccinated.
The survey data, published as part of a piece examining demographic data of Rogan’s chart-topping audience, didn’t specify whether the respondents were partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A Morning Consult spokesperson said respondents were not asked to disclose whether they'd been boosted.
More than 88% of U.S. adults have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 75% of American adults are fully vaccinated, and 75% of the non-Rogan fans polled by Morning Consult said they were vaccinated.
Rogan and Spotify, which The New York Times reported last month paid more than $200 million to exclusively stream Rogan’s podcasts, have faced intense criticism for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The 54-year-old, who has said he is not vaccinated, has pushed false or misleading claims about the virus and the pandemic, while hosting numerous guests who did the same.
More than 1,000 medical and scientific experts published an open letter to the streaming giant in January, according to NPR, blasting Spotify for "enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals."
After musician Neil Young pulled his music from the company's catalog after it refused to cut ties with Rogan, some prominent recording artists and podcasters followed suit.
Rogan said in a lengthy Instagram video on Jan. 31 that he was “not trying to promote misinformation” and “not trying to be controversial.” He said he would book more mainstream experts and “do my best to make sure that I’ve researched these topics … and have all the pertinent facts at hand before I discuss them.”
Some of Rogan’s most avid listeners are from the least vaccinated groups.
Among unvaccinated U.S. adults surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation last month, 57% were younger than 50 and 61% identified as Republican. Fifty-nine percent of Rogan’s avid fans surveyed were younger than 45, while 46% identified as Republican, 54% as conservative and 52% said they voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
As of press time, "The Joe Rogan Experience" was Spotify's most popular podcast in the U.S. It reaches an estimated 11 million listeners per episode. Spotify didn't respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment prior to publication.
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