Spotify rushes to remove dozens of fake podcasts promoting online drug sales

Spotify is under renewed scrutiny after dozens of fake podcast pages promoting the sale of prescription drugs without prescriptions were discovered on its platform, violating U.S. law and the streaming giant’s own content policies.

A CNN investigation revealed that searches for terms like “Adderall,” “Xanax,” “Valium,” and “Percocet” on Spotify yielded not only legitimate health and wellness discussions, but also spam podcasts linking directly to online pharmacies, some claiming to deliver addictive medications such as Oxycodone, Vicodin, and Methadone with “FDA-approved delivery without prescription.”

Among the fraudulent listings was a podcast titled “My Adderall Store,” which directed users to buy Adderall and other medications from external websites. One show, “Xtrapharma.com,” featured computerized voices advertising narcotics in under 10-second episodes. Another listed as “Order Xanax 2 mg Online Big Deal On Christmas Season” offered “government approved medicine” without any verification process.

After CNN flagged 26 such podcasts, Spotify quickly removed them, stating they violated its platform rules. However, more fake podcasts remained active the next day, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the platform’s moderation systems.

“We are constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement, emphasizing that both automated detection and human moderation are used to enforce content rules.

Spotify’s platform rules prohibit content that promotes the illicit sale of regulated substances or engages in spam-like behavior. Its creator guidelines also warn against mass publishing content solely to promote services, especially those considered harmful or illegal.

Despite those rules, CNN was able to identify dozens of remaining podcast pages promoting prescription drug sales, many of which had been live for months. None appeared to have user ratings, making the extent of their reach unclear.

The exposure comes amid growing concern over the ease with which teens and adults can access dangerous or counterfeit drugs online. Parents and lawmakers have pressed tech platforms to curb these activities after multiple overdose deaths were linked to pills purchased from unregulated sites.

“Anywhere people can post user-generated content, you will find … people selling drugs,” said Sarah Gardner, CEO of the Heat Initiative, a nonprofit advocating for child safety online. “It’s really about what the companies do to combat it.”

The fake podcast listings reflect broader challenges for platforms like Spotify as AI tools make it easier to mass-produce audio content, often with synthetic voices, in ways that evade traditional content moderation. Podcasts, experts say, are a growing blind spot in online safety due to the inherent difficulty of reviewing audio compared to text or images.

Federal agencies including the FDA and DOJ have long warned about the dangers of online pharmacies operating outside legal frameworks. In 2011, Google paid $500 million in fines for enabling ads from Canadian online pharmacies targeting U.S. consumers.

Tech platforms, however, are often shielded from liability for user-posted content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a protection critics say has slowed enforcement against illicit activities.

This latest controversy adds to Spotify’s troubled history with health-related content, including backlash over Joe Rogan’s podcast during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Spotify responded at the time with content advisories and moderation reforms, experts say this latest episode shows the platform must go further.

“What’s true is that this is preventable,” said Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project. “The tools exist, the precedent is there. It’s a matter of how seriously the company wants to take user safety.”

As of Friday, searches on Spotify still returned several podcast results promoting unregulated drug sales, even as the company faces increasing public and regulatory pressure to tighten enforcement and protect users from illegal and dangerous content.

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