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In January 2022, a piece of text went viral on social media that supposedly relayed an exchange from the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in which the host — former MMA fighter, former "Fear Factor" host, and non-doctor Joe Rogan — argued that hamburgers were made out of ham:
This is not a genuine exchange featured on the Joe Rogan Experience. This piece of text is a humorous work of fiction from comedian Tim Ross that was poking fun of a genuine conversation that took place during a recent episode.
On Jan. 12, 2022, a few days after 270 doctors, physicians, and science educators signed an open letter calling on Spotify to stop the spread of misinformation on Rogan's podcast, Rogan sat down with ABC radio Sydney host Josh Szeps.
During the interview, Rogan incorrectly stated that people who receive the COVID-19 vaccine were at a higher risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, than people who contract the disease. When Szeps corrected Rogan and presented a study showing that the risk of myocarditis was actually higher for people who had contracted COVID-19, Rogan was taken aback, saying, "that's not what I've read."
The exchange went viral as many people appeared to enjoy seeing Rogan get fact-checked live on air, while some noted that the podcast host had a difficult time accepting new information that countered his preconceived beliefs.
On Jan. 14, Ross distilled the above-displayed exchange into a brief anecdote about Rogan arguing that hamburgers were made out of ham despite clearly being wrong.
Here's Ross' original tweet:
Sources
“An Open Letter to Spotify.” An Open Letter to Spotify, 10 Jan. 2022, https://spotifyopenletter.wordpress.com/2022/01/10/an-open-letter-to-spotify/.
Backhouse, Andrew. “Aussie Challenges Joe Rogan on Podcast.” News.Com.Au — Australia’s Leading News Site, 14 Jan. 2022, https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/josh-szeps-fact-checks-joe-rogan-live-on-podcast/news-story/d0cc05b833cb1699552eaa8dc4abb6fa.
Barda, Noam, et al. “Safety of the BNT162b2 MRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in a Nationwide Setting.” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 385, no. 12, Sept. 2021, pp. 1078–90. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2110475.
Dickson, E. J. “‘A Menace to Public Health’: Doctors Demand Spotify Puts an End to Covid Lies on ‘Joe Rogan Experience.’” Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2022, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/covid-misinformation-joe-rogan-spotify-petition-1282240/.
“Joe Rogan Says COVID-19, Vaccine Debate on His Podcast Made Him ‘Look Dumb.’” Pennlive, 15 Jan. 2022, https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2022/01/joe-rogan-says-covid-19-vaccine-debate-on-his-podcast-made-him-look-dumb.html.
“Myocarditis Is More Common after Covid-19 Infection than Vaccination.” New Scientist, https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25133462-800-myocarditis-is-more-common-after-covid-19-infection-than-vaccination/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2022.
Patone, Martina, et al. “Risks of Myocarditis, Pericarditis, and Cardiac Arrhythmias Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 Infection.” Nature Medicine, Dec. 2021, pp. 1–13. www.nature.com, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01630-0.
What to Know About Myocarditis and COVID-19 | Patient Care. https://weillcornell.org/news/what-to-know-about-myocarditis-and-covid-19. Accessed 17 Jan. 2022.
