Vice Runs Thanksgiving Hit Piece on Joe Rogan Prompting Backlash on Twitter

In an article titled “Joe Rogan is Everyone Else’s Problem,” Vice’s Anna Merlan called out platforms such as the UFC, Spotify, and other mainstream entities that make money off of Rogan and said that they are turning a blind eye to Rogan becoming an “increasingly prominent role in extremist spaces.”

“Joe Rogan is solidfying his ties with the far right, while at the same time returning to be one of the most prominent faces of the UFC and a linchpin of Spotify’s podcast network. And no one making money from any of this seems to mind a bit,” Merlan said in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

Joe Rogan is solidfying his ties with the far right, while at the same time returning to be one of the most prominent faces of the UFC and a linchpin of Spotify’s podcast network. And no one making money from any of this seems to mind a bit: https://t.co/cZ5wxPNwLs

— Anna Merlan (@annamerlan) November 24, 2021

The Rogan piece drew some backlash on social media.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald accused writer Anna Merlan of falsely labeling popular podcaster Joe Rogan “far-right” in an attempt to get him cancelled.

The claim that Joe Rogan — a supporter of Bernie Sanders, an anti-imperialist, a crusader against factory farms, etc. — is of the “far right” is the kind of stupidity in which liberals specialize: “let’s try to expel the most influential media figure and insist he’s our enemy.” https://t.co/bC6IaR41C6

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 25, 2021

“The claim that Joe Rogan — a supporter of Bernie Sanders, an anti-imperialist, a crusader against factory farms, etc. — is of the ‘far right’ is the kind of stupidity in which liberals specialize: ‘let’s try to expel the most influential media figure and insist he’s our enemy,'” Greenwald said in a tweet on Thursday.

“Rational political movements try to expand the range of those who identify with them. The liberal-left so often looks for ways to expel as many people as possible,” Greenwald continued. “Rogan has an audience of millions. You can’t change that. The only choices you have: 1) engage with that huge audience to build common ground or 2) create a climate where nobody on the liberal-left can go there, ceding it all to the right. Those who want to lose choose (2).”

“Also, the only point of this @VICE article is to pressure corporate sponsors and Spotify to disassociate themselves with Rogan or force them to limit what he can say,” Greenwald added. “Again, note how often the priority of liberals — especially ‘journalists’– is to restrict the range of views.”

“Let us give thanks today that this dreary, repressive sector of the media devoted to homogenized thought, coerced conformity and abolition of dissent is dying, while platforms devoted to free thought, editorial independence, and diversity of opinion are thriving,” Greenwald concluded.

Greenwald wasn’t the only one to take aim at Merlan’s article. Matthew Yglesias said that the left-wing pushback against Rogan is “backfiring in an incredibly predictable way.”