Spotify, the world’s largest streaming provider, has a Nazi problem

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For Spotify listeners, the day of the week usually determines what kind of music you listen to. On Mondays, the “mix of the week” is as much of a commute as the coffee to go. And on Friday after work there is “Broadcast Radar” for the Aperol Spritz. Throughout the week, different “daily mixes” set the music – depending on the mood, genre and what friends are listening to.

Spotify, the world’s largest streaming provider, offers algorithmically curated playlists tailored to the taste of the listener. While the Flat White algorithm might suggest that indie pop bands drink oat milk, it might suggest far-right rap that fuels violence.

Spotify has a Nazi problem. If you search for “Hitler” on the streaming platform, you’ll find countless playlists with names like “Hitler’s Bunker Bangers”, “I love Hitler” and “gas like Hitler” and pictures of Hitler or National Socialist symbols on the cover. If you search for “right-wing rock”, Spotify provides playlists featuring songs by far-right bands FLAK, Moshpit, and Übermensch. In 2020, the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution requested that the songs of the group Übermensch be deleted – this has not happened until today. In a song that has over a million streams, the band sings, “Hail to you, my dear homeland, hello to you, my dear country.”

Actions against right-wing music

That’s why the association “Laut gegen Nazis” developed the reporting bot HANS last fall. The bot makes it easy for users to report discriminatory content; You send it to the bot via Whatsapp. The reports are then checked by “Laut gegen Nazis” and forwarded to Spotify. At the beginning of February, the association conducted a due diligence: users reported more than 5,000 problematic content. Half of them are about fascist content.

The most prominent song reported is misogynistic and has almost 430 million streams, the top reported artist has nearly 50 million monthly listeners, and is anti-Semitic. This is not the first time “Laut gegen Nazis” is taking action against far-right music. In January 2022, the association developed a “Trojan link”. The so-called right-wing group has released an audio sample for Hetzjaeger’s debut single.

The audio sample has been played thousands of times and is often shared on far-right channels. But after the release of the entire song, it became clear: the band is not right-wing, the song is openly anti-fascist from the second line. Instead of mocking nocturnal torches in the woods, you see young people dancing in strobe lights.

Streaming services bear responsibility

“Music emotionalizes and touches more than just a purely political statement,” says Jörn Menge of “Laut gegen Nazis.” On the one hand, people are more personally attacked by discriminatory content, on the other hand, a catchy tune makes people more aware of the music. The most dangerous thing about content is that it’s easily accessible. “Spotify presents a 500 million-person stage to hate, hate speech, discrimination and Co. Even if I don’t want to hear about this type of content, algorithms distribute it completely unlimited and automatically,” says Menge.

“Music is a gateway drug for extremism,” says extremist Dirk Baier. It should not be underestimated that music can make a band interesting for young people. Streaming services have made it easier for right-wing extremists to make music visible to a wider audience. We also know that what happens on the platforms does not stay on the platforms. Research on Twitter shows that hate and hate speech have spilled over into reality.

For Baier, the situation is clear: “Any platform that reaches a wide audience has to consider what effects it can trigger in real life.” Spotify bears responsibility. The content should be better controlled and there should be a possibility to report the content. And this should be actively encouraged. “It should be easy to report content. It’s as easy as searching and listening to a song.»

Spotify currently only offers the option to report content in the browser. It is missing in the app. When asked why Spotify doesn’t offer a reporting function in the app, the company doesn’t respond. “Spotify is currently dealing with content so irresponsibly that the platform is becoming a tool for political radicalization, discrimination and psychological violence,” says Menge of Laut gegen Nazis.

Discriminatory Content

What else can be said? And what not? Content can also be found on other streaming platforms and is sometimes difficult to report. The association “Laut gegen Nazis” wants to draw attention to the problem in general with its action.

So what does Spotify do?

So far, the platform has barely reacted to the reported content. According to Laut gegen Nazis, only 4.5 percent of reported content was deleted. Faced with this, Spotify initially remained silent and later responded with a statement that the company also referred to “The Observer.” “Our team of experts regularly reviews and takes action against infringing content on our platform. Despite our ongoing innovation and measured investment, we recognize that there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Source :Blick