Society
7.23.2020
Spotify takes a stand for tolerance and removes an islamophobic track targeting Zayn Malik
A song was recently removed from the popular Swedish music streaming platform Spotify because it carried an Islamophobic message targeting former One Direction singer Zayn Malik (on the right on the picture). This is a good example of a giant taking a stand against the excesses of the web.
The Internet has always posed a problem of “morality” with regard to the content it hosts. Because a profusion of content and total freedom of expression inevitably means overflows. This is the case, for example, of the song “Zayn did 9/11” by the parodic group Una Kompton, released in 2017, which insinuates (or rather asserts… over and over again) that the former singer of the famous boy band One Direction, because of his origins and religious affiliation (he is Pakistani and Muslim), is responsible for the September 11, 2001 attack on New York’s World Trade Center in which several thousand people died.
Fans set themselves up as vigilantes
The song, hosted on the Spotify platform, caught the attention of the young man’s fans, who, outraged by the injustice he suffered, campaigned on social networks such as Twitter to have the accusatory song removed, with the hashtag #removeitforzayn (#remove it forZayn).
the fact that racist and islamophobic content has been allowed on this platform in the first place and has been left up for so long is beyond disgusting. zayn deserves better. remove it. @spotifycares @spotify pic.twitter.com/fHkhVvo82w
— 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲¹ᴰ (@habitIovers) July 19, 2020
The platform was quick to remove the song. In doing so, it spread a message of tolerance and acceptance of all faiths and beliefs. Unless it is simply an automated removal due to too many reports. So far, neither Apple Music nor YouTube have applied the same measures against the defamatory song.
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