We previously reported on the story about the letter to Spotify from “270 doctors” complaining about Joe Rogan and asking them to “moderate misinformation” on their platform.

‘Menace to public health’: 270 doctors call out Spotify over Joe Rogan’s podcast https://t.co/DhXJ0OPl10

— The Guardian (@guardian) January 14, 2022

EXCLUSIVE: Doctors have sent Spotify a petition demanding that stop permitting Covid-19 misinformation on their platform — including the lies spread on the Joe Rogan Experience https://t.co/v8sDOmriWu

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 12, 2022

So far, Spotify seems to be giving the request to censor all the attention it deserves. Which is to say they appear to be blowing it off. So good on them for standing up for free speech.

But some took a closer look at the media claim about “270 doctors” and went out and found that claim itself was some classic “misinformation.”

Most of the 270 signatories are not medical doctors, so the claim appears jacked by the media to give more medical weight to the letter. But this is typical media inflation for a point or narrative they want to support.

Although in the letter, the group identifies themselves as a “coalition of scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators” they also say “as physicians, we bear the arduous weight of a pandemic that has stretched our medical systems to their limits and only stands to be exacerbated by the anti-vaccination sentiment woven into this and other episodes of Rogan’s podcast.” Yet most of them are not physicians.

The 270 signatories to a letter include multiple nurses, pharmacists, and even includes a veterinarian.

Saying "270 doctors" is simply not accurate. https://t.co/LoDhw2FAxV https://t.co/vb8X7M6O07 pic.twitter.com/midAhyfVP7

— Alex VanNess (@thealexvanness) January 16, 2022

The “Ethical Skeptic” made up a chart having fun the narrative.

A trick the SciComms pull all the time.

Only 5% of the signatories bear any form of relevant qual

Experts 5%
Letters after my name 58%
Failed 'Letters after my name' envy 37%https://t.co/pWxJLaqpvW pic.twitter.com/MTHiXk5ZoS

— Ethical Skeptic ☀ (@EthicalSkeptic) January 14, 2022

The problem here is, of course, a bigger one. Why should 270 people have the right to shut down anyone else’s opinion, whether they are medical doctors, “health experts,” or whatever the media is choosing to call them? You could very likely find more people and other veterinarians who are against trying to censor anyone.

So if 270 health experts tell Spotify Joe Rogan is pushing misinfo we ought to take note. But if 61,000+ health experts sign the Great Barrington Declaration, stating grave concerns about current Covid policies it isn’t even a blip on the MSM radar. 🤔 Hmm. Yes. Interesting. pic.twitter.com/tNFNOdnD1p

— Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) January 15, 2022

When you start down this road, who gets to decide what qualifies as “misinformation?” It becomes whatever is the present acceptable liberal narrative.

If you believe Rogan is wrong, then shouldn’t you believe in the worth of your ideas to carry the day in the free marketplace of ideas? And why are they focused on Joe Rogan? Why don’t they seem to care about the COVID misinformation that has been spread from media outlets like CNN or even the misinformation that has been spread by Joe Biden from the White House? Biden has claimed in the past that if you are vaccinated, you can’t get or transmit the virus. That’s false and can be very problematic if you think that gives you a free pass for the virus. Where’s the letter from these “270 doctors” objecting to that?