Does It Matter That Joe Rogan Hosted Alex Jones On His Podcast, Again?
Joe Rogan recently invited infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones back on to his podcast, in a seemingly defiant move that signals to his audience (and Spotify), that his new contract hasn’t changed the way he operates.
The last time Jones appeared on the podcast, the horrors of Sandy Hook were still in the news cycle, a reminder that Jones helped promote the nonsensical “false flag” narrative that led to the parents of slaughtered children being hounded by deranged conspiracy theorists.
At the time, Rogan was heavily criticized for platforming Jones and encouraging the spread of conspiratorial thinking. But Jones has returned to a changed world, a new studio, and a (slightly) more critical Rogan, who made sure to fact check his outlandish claims. Kind of.
Truth be told, Rogan doesn’t do a particularly great job of pushing back against Jones, because he is so concerned with making his guest feel comfortable; he spent a great deal of time reminding listeners of the few times Jones was proven correct (as though the occasional truth justifies the onslaught of delirious, dangerous nonsense).
Jones has long been banned from most of the major social media platforms, and the decision to platform him on an incredibly popular podcast has always been the subject of intense debate. But things feel slightly different these days, and it's not just Rogan’s improved (but still deeply flawed) ability to fact check.
The current crop of conspiracy theories making their way through the world have moved way beyond Jones, and into the delusional realm of QAnon, a movement that even Jones views as too far-fetched. QAnon, being a “crowdsourced” conspiracy in which followers contribute to the mythology, doesn’t need a media figure like Jones to descend into mass madness.
In today’s landscape, Jones is a living meme, just another guest earnestly discussing subjects he doesn’t even begin to understand (not an uncommon occurrence on the Joe Rogan Experience). The fact that Rogan continues to invite him is disappointing, but not devastating.
That being said, Rogan is still inviting interesting, insightful guests. In fact, he’s had quite an eventful week, having had conversations with Kanye West, Matthew McConaughey, and uncompromising journalist Glenn Greenwald. Last month, Rogan talked to whistleblower Edward Snowden, the former CIA contractor who exposed the death of privacy in the digital age.
While Rogan does spread an absurd amount of misinformation, his willingness to speak to maligned media outsiders sometimes results in important, informative conversations that wouldn't otherwise be heard. At least, not on a platform as popular as Rogan’s podcast.
Rogan can certainly do better when it comes to the ideological diversity of guests he platforms, and improve his fact checking, but when his podcast does bring on an intelligent guest who is qualified to discuss certain topics, it can be genuinely informative, while still being fun.
I don’t know if the occasional appearance from Jones outweighs the beneficial episodes of Rogan’s podcast, but maybe it doesn’t matter; Jones is a has-been, having been replaced by a narrative even more convoluted, and dangerous, than his nonsensical word salads.
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