Joe Rogan Proves His Podcast Platform Is a Public Health Threat
Joe Rogan is no stranger to controversy. In fact, the comedian and host of the popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, practically thrives on it.
Rogan, who launched his podcast in 2009, has been in the headlines a lot lately, due to the remarks that he has made about COVID-19. Rogan has been outspoken about his dislike of the government’s handling of the pandemic and has regularly opened up about how he believes COVID-19 isn’t as serious as many media outlets report that it is.
While Rogan has been criticized for his brashness, some fans appreciate the way that he doesn’t allow himself to be filtered — and still others, including some scientists, have slammed Rogan for spreading misinformation.
What did Joe Rogan say about vaccine passports?
In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan claimed that “vaccine passports” are, in many ways, unconstitutional. “When you give people freedom, you let people do whatever the f–k they want to do, they actually find ways to succeed and grow and thrive. But as soon as you put the boots to them, as soon as you tell them, ‘You have to do this, or you can’t do that. You have to listen to me,’ now you have a mini dictator,” Rogan said.
The comedian went on to say that mandating vaccination documentation for travel would put people “One step away from a king. One step closer. You’re moving one step closer to dictatorship. That’s what the f–k is happening,” Rogan detailed. “That’s what’s gonna happen with a vaccine passport.”
Rogan went on to question much of the science behind vaccination, even citing a popular 2015 study and claiming that vaccinating people against COVID-19 will increase the chances of a dangerous, hyper-virulent mutation of the virus.
Scientists have debunked Joe Rogan’s controversial vaccine remarks
Some scientists have spoken out in the wake of Joe Rogan’s most recent COVID-19 comments, with scientist Andrew Read, professor of biology and entomology at Pennsylvania State, stating that Rogan is getting the concept behind vaccination “completely wrong.” As reported by Forbes, Read said that “he’s taking very careful work about evolutionary scenarios of the future, and from that, erroneously concluding that people should not be vaccinated now.”
Read went on to describe how the vaccination effort is working, detailing that scientists are quite certain of the methodology that they are following, and how critics like Rogan could be contributing to widespread vaccine hesitancy.
“Those of us who are very interested in the way the evolution might go, have trouble doing the work, or at least talking about it, because of the concern that people like Joe Rogan will twist it and use it in the wrong way,” said Read.
Is Joe Rogan being irresponsible?
Rogan has built a successful career on being outspoken about his beliefs. The podcast host doesn’t subscribe to any one particular political philosophy and often welcomes guests with both conservative and liberal ideologies onto his show. He has a large fanbase of people who appreciate hearing his unfiltered take on world events and politics, but even an entertainer as popular as Rogan has critics.
With scientists calling Rogan out for being irresponsible, it is likely that he could earn greater criticism in the future — especially with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still ravaging many corners of the world.
