Neil Young never backs down from a fight. The legendary rocker has feuded with record labels, an oil pipeline and a former bandmate. But this week he went against his biggest target yet: Spotify.

He accuesses the streaming giant of "spreading fake information about vaccines". The prime offender? Podcaster Joe Rogan. Young demanded that Spotify either remove his music or Rogan's show. "They can have Rogan or Young", thundered the songwriter, "Not both."

So far, Spotify has held firm. Yesterday, Young's catalogue vanished from the app. The choice was easy: the Joe Rogan Experience is Spotify's most-streamed podcast. 

Some social media companies are taking a stand against misinformation. Twitter users are barred from sharing false or misleading information about Covid-19. Apple Podcasts has a similar ban on all harmful content. But Spotify has no such rules.

Broadcasting untruths might be immoral. But misinformation is dangerous. In India, falsehoods spread on Facebook have fuelled anti-Muslim violence. Young's supporters argue platforms should do everything they can to remove such harmful content.

But others are not so sure. They ask why Young should have the power to decide what Rogan and his guests can say? And why should Spotify? To no-platform Rogan is to take away his freedom of speech, a basic human right. 

The modern world has made it possible for far more people to share their views. Once, people had to be published by a newspaper or magazine to have their views heard. The internet has changed that. 

But this explosion of voices has helped false information to spread. Many believe that this is a danger, especially as the world deals with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. As epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera says: "We have an infodemic going on that is prolonging the pandemic and it is causing people to make bad choices and actually die."

Yes: Misinformation is the ill of our time. Powerful companies have a duty to fight it. By failing to take up its sword and prioritise profit over truth, Spotify has failed. It should be punished.

No: The press has always published opinion alongside fact. Why should podcasts be any different? It is naive to imagine a world without untruths and it is our own responsibility to choose what to believe.

Or... Boycotting Spotify would hurt all the artists who rely on it as a source of income. Instead of banning it completely, we should pressure it to clearly signpost podcasts that contain misinformation.