Joe Rogan is under fire yet again, this time for spreading false information about actor Steven Seagal and the war in Ukraine brought on by Russia.
Rogan’s now-deleted post contained a shot of Seagal outfitted in army gear from the 2016 film “Cartels.” The mock CNN report was photoshopped, and Rogan has since posted an update on Instagram, citing The Washington Post’s 2017 story about how Seagal was banned from Ukraine as a national security threat.
“I deleted my earlier post about Steven Seagal being in Ukraine because it was parody, which isn’t surprising, but honestly it wouldn’t be surprising if it was true either,” Rogan wrote. “He was banned from Ukraine in 2017 because he was labeled as a national security threat. I, like all of you hope the tragic situation is resolved there quickly.”
Reactions to Rogan’s recent social media activity criticized his lack of media literacy alongside the huge following he has.
Others recall the tension brewed by his podcasting deal with Spotify, which many celebrities, musicians and other artists are boycotting because Rogan has spread COVID-19 misinformation on said podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Rogan has also been blasted for his use of the N-word in his podcast by musicians like India Arie. Brené Brown paused her podcast production — the sociologist creates two podcasts with Spotify, “Dare to Lead” and “Unlocking Us” — to support the Spotify boycott.
Spotify has responded to boycotts, and has so far kept Rogan’s content up.
More Twitter reactions follow.
