- Spotify's live chat support was temporarily impacted by a flood of customer complaints, per reports.
- Amid a misinformation row, Newsweek reported that Spotify users were told it may be slow to respond.
- As of Sunday, a support bot answered queries but said a human would help if users "got stuck."
Spotify has been inundated by complaints in the wake of a row over misinformation, involving Neil Young and Joe Rogan, which impacted its live customer support service, reports said.
Newsweek reported Thursday that a message appeared on the support page, which read: "We're currently getting a lot of contacts so may be slow to respond." However, as of Sunday, this message was no longer appearing.
Insider verified on Sunday that customers seeking support were still initially being directed to a chatbot. The bot, which responded quickly to queries, told users a "human will help if you get stuck."
On Tuesday, Insider's Sarah Al-Arshani reported that Young wanted his music pulled from Spotify over COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, saying "they can have Rogan or Young. Not both."
The #deletespotify hashtag emerged on social media after Spotify announced on Wednesday it was siding with Rogan. The hashtag was still trending in some regions on Sunday.
Spotify did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The host of The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify has been criticized for "spreading fake information" over the COVID-19 vaccine, with a group of 270 healthcare professionals and educators sending an open letter to Spotify, according to Newsweek.
Insider reported that in one of Rogan's podcast episodes last month, he interviewed Robert Malone, a scientist who claimed Americans were "hypnotized" into following COVID-19 measures because of "mass formation psychosis," which was debunked by psychologists.
Insider's Sarah Al-Arshani reported that leaked internal messages from Dustee Jenkins, Spotify's head of global communications and public relations, offered insight into its decision to side with Rogan. The episodes "didn't meet the threshold for removal," Jenkins wrote.
Following Young's comments, Joni Mitchell wrote on her official website that "irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives." On Friday, she joined Young in asking for her music to be removed from the platform, as Insider's Kelsey Vlamis reported.