--- title: Spotify Removes Some Alex Jones Podcasts as 'Hate Content' description: Spotify removed some “The Alex Jones Show” podcasts because they violated the company’s hate-speech policies and subscribers complained. canonical: https://time.com/5355962/alex-jones-spotify-hate-content/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-02T00:45:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:51:47.950Z article:section: Politics og:title: Spotify Removes Some Alex Jones Podcasts for Violating Its 'Hate Content' Policy og:description: “We take reports of hate content seriously" og:url: https://time.com/5355962/alex-jones-spotify-hate-content/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4834fb92f23e382/698936df096a94eed16a3131/gettyimages-539742840-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2949 og:image:height: 1659 og:image:alt: Texas Minuteman Protest og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Spotify Removes Some Alex Jones Podcasts for Violating Its 'Hate Content' Policy twitter:description: “We take reports of hate content seriously" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4834fb92f23e382/698936df096a94eed16a3131/gettyimages-539742840-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Spotify Removes Some Alex Jones Podcasts for Violating Its 'Hate Content' Policy > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Caleb Mutua / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Caleb Mutua / Bloomberg Contributor Aug 2, 2018 12:45 AM UTC  Right-wing talk show host Alex Jones confronts Hispanic protesters in Austin, Texas on September 18, 2005 at the Texas Capitol who were protesting Minutemen plans to patrol the Texas border for illegal aliens. Right-wing talk show host Alex Jones confronts Hispanic protesters in Austin, Texas on September 18, 2005 at the Texas Capitol who were protesting Minutemen plans to patrol the Texas border for illegal aliens. Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc—Corbis via Getty Images by [Caleb Mutua / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Caleb Mutua / Bloomberg Contributor Aug 2, 2018 12:45 AM UTC Spotify Technology SA removed some podcasts of “The Alex Jones Show” from its service because they violated the streaming company’s hate-speech policies and subscribers complained about the content. The online music company, which relies on subscription revenue from its customers, didn’t say how many episodes were pulled. Facebook and YouTube have also taken down some Jones programs for similar reasons. “Spotify can confirm it has removed specific episodes of ‘The Alex Jones Show’ podcast for violating our hate content policy,” the Stockholm-based company said in a statement. “We take reports of hate content seriously and review any podcast episode or song that is flagged by our community.” Jones is a radio host and conspiracy theorist who runs the website Infowars.com. He has insisted that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax and is facing litigation from the families of the victims. The website Recode reported on Spotify’s action earlier Wednesday. Content that expressly and principally promotes, advocates, or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual based on race, religion, gender identity or sex among other characteristics, is regarded as hate content, Spotify says on its website. “We are also continuing to develop and implement content monitoring technology which identifies content on our service that has been flagged as hate content on specific international registers,” the company said. In June, Spotify rescinded a shortlived policy that punished artists for misconduct after facing pressure from irate musicians and record labels. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5355962/alex-jones-spotify-hate-content/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5355962/alex-jones-spotify-hate-content/"},"headline":"Spotify Removes Some Alex Jones Podcasts for Violating Its 'Hate Content' Policy","datePublished":"2018-08-02T00:45:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:51:47.950Z","description":"“We take reports of hate content seriously\"","url":"https://time.com/5355962/alex-jones-spotify-hate-content/","keywords":["Spotify","Tech","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4834fb92f23e382/698936df096a94eed16a3131/gettyimages-539742840-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Caleb Mutua / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4834fb92f23e382/698936df096a94eed16a3131/gettyimages-539742840-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Texas Minuteman Protest","caption":"Texas Minuteman Protest","creditText":"Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc—Corbis via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/spotify/","name":"Spotify"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5355962/alex-jones-spotify-hate-content/","name":"Spotify Removes Some Alex Jones Podcasts for Violating Its 'Hate Content' Policy"}}]}] ```