Spotify removed an episode of True North’s The Faulkner Show that featured an interview with former residential school worker Rodney Clifton claiming it promoted dangerous content.
The streaming giant cited alleged concerns over “dangerous content” as the reason for the takedown, igniting fresh controversy over censorship and free speech.
In an official statement, Spotify explained, “Upon review, we have removed the following content for violating Spotify’s Platform Rules for Dangerous Content.” However, specific details about what constituted “dangerous” were not made clear by the company.
The episode in question involved an interview with Clifton, who argued that historical narratives surrounding residential schools have been distorted by far-left activists.
Clifton shared his experience working in the residential school system, stating, “There were good and bad things that happened in residential schools, and the good has been outshouted by the claims of bad and people who are getting money for saying bad things.”
Clifton further expressed doubt over the widely circulated claims of mass graves at former residential schools.
“I don’t think there’s any children that have been murdered and buried in schoolyards,” said Clifton.
The interview’s removal was celebrated by Tik Toker Rachel Gilmore, a former Global News reporter, who took credit for the censorship in a post on X.
Gilmore migrated to TikTok after being laid off by her former employer. Among those who celebrated Gilmore’s actions were NDP MP Peter Julian and former director at Indian and Northern Affairs Pamela Palmater.
Despite the furor over Clifton’s comments, there remains ongoing debate about the mass grave claims. Media outlets like CityNews have revised their initial reporting. Further, CityNews Vancouver deleted a tweet and amended an article that had previously claimed “hundreds of unmarked graves” were discovered.
Even the First Nation that reported the original alleged discoveries have revised their statements, referring only to the discovery of “anomalies” instead of confirmed graves.
As a result of divisive media reporting, over 100 churches have been targeted by vandalism and arson since the initial misleading announcement.
Some in the government have even suggested outlawing claims contrary to the official narrative as “residential school denialism.”
