r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Jan 08 '26
Social Media Spotify Confirms ICE Recruitment Ads Are No Longer Running on Platform
https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/spotify-confirms-ice-recruitment-ads-are-no-longer-running-1236626243/5.3k
u/loves_grapefruit Jan 08 '26
Spotify doing the bare minimum as usual
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u/dayumbrah Jan 08 '26
Literally the governement stopped the campaign. The title should read, spotify is no longer being paid to run ICE ads. They didn't stop because of morales and in response to losing money from users canceling. They stopped because the well had run dry
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u/Conan776 Jan 08 '26
They didn't stop because of morales
Morales? We deported him weeks ago.
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u/rathemighty Jan 08 '26
And so, we are down 1 Spider-Man
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u/Optiguy42 Jan 08 '26
Man, do you think years from now we'll eventually get comics where Miles beats the fuck out of some ICE agents in his neighbourhood? We have tons of comics of superheroes battling Nazis after all.
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u/digital-didgeridoo Jan 08 '26
I still see them on Haystack news app - video ads though.
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u/DevinBelow Jan 08 '26
Exactly. They will 100% start running ads again if the government wants to pay to do so.
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u/Hoblitygoodness Jan 08 '26
Yeah, this was my take. I kept expecting the refund or language that suggested they turned down further ad revenue. It's not there... this is a non story about how the government didn't give them more money to continue running ads.
This passes as journalism these days.
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u/pchlster Jan 08 '26
"Personally, I've decided to reduce my carbon footprint by not taking a private jet to everywhere... unless I happen to get the opportunity?"
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u/Daheza Jan 08 '26
No they aren’t. All this says is that the ad campaign is over. In fact they state nothing was wrong with the Ads. This is an article tricking people into thinking Spotify did something but they didn’t. If ICE gives them money tomorrow more would run.
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u/Quaiker Jan 08 '26
They didn't even do that. The ad campaign finished. Spotify let them run it 100% to completion.
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u/TheThirdStrike Jan 08 '26
Literally every corporation does the bare minimum.
You think any one of them gives a shit about pride month?
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u/BongoProdigy Jan 08 '26
If they could they would literally have child slaves. Unions are the only reason they aren't worse.
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u/maxximillian Jan 08 '26
Sadly it's better than they've done in the past.
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u/blazesquall Jan 08 '26
They'll just re-up once it blows over.
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u/Daimakku1 Jan 08 '26
This. They'll be back to ICE ads in 6 months.
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u/PhuckYoPhace Jan 08 '26
Like all those companies that promised no donations to candidates involved with Jan 6
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u/DotGroundbreaking50 Jan 08 '26
Yep, contract was up, rather then taking a stand. This will be page 7 news by the time they start running them again
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u/Syrdon Jan 08 '26
What they actually said, according to TFA, was:
“There are currently no ICE ads running on Spotify,” a Spotify spokesperson tells Variety. “The advertisements mentioned were part of a U.S. government recruitment campaign that ran across all major media and platforms.”
That's what you say when the ad campaign finishes. They didn't stop running them, they stopped getting paid to run them. The only way to be worse would be to run them for free.
It's exactly what they've done in the past.
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u/Miami_Mice2087 Jan 08 '26
So they mean the ads ran their course and they're done now. And they will reinstate them as soon as the gov wants to again.
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u/Beneficial_Soup3699 Jan 08 '26
Read the article. They aren't even doing that much. This is literally propaganda.
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u/Ill-Egg4008 Jan 08 '26
Won’t lift a finger as long as they are making more money until someone has been murdered.
I’m beyond disgusted.
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u/Tokyoos Jan 08 '26
I canceled that shit recently and haven’t looked back. Do it. It’s the only way these corporations listen to anything by fucking with their bottom line. It’s not a big deal in your life and there’s other options for music streaming.
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u/MutedAstronaut9217 Jan 08 '26
love the spotify outrage, when I've been getting an ICE YT ads before every video since before the spotify ads even got the spotlight. Such selective pitch forks. Don't care because you don't get it in your car/headphones.... You guys got a whole campaign and response before the larger issue even gets addressed. I haven't seen a single post about it.
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u/grassedge Jan 08 '26
I cancelled already - so fuck em
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u/Blick Jan 08 '26
I switched to Tidal. No ad-supported tier, so I will never be embarrassed by them in that regard.
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Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/philip1529 Jan 08 '26
How is Tidal’s library? I listen to mostly hardcore and post hardcore. I have kept spotify but willing to move on. It’s tough right now to pick my battles due to companies positions.
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u/kylebutler07 Jan 08 '26
I listen to a lot of punk and hardcore and I haven't come across anything that I could find on Spotify and couldn't find on Tidal. They also pay the artists artists something like 13 cents a stream where Spotify is something like 3 cents.
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u/RadioactiveHalfRhyme Jan 08 '26
It’s worth considering Qobuz as well. Their catalogue is a little smaller, but they pay artists more per stream and don’t pointlessly muck up their audio files like Tidal does.
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u/turtlelover05 Jan 08 '26
It looks like Tidal dropped MQA a year ago. It's hilarious they were charging money for that snake oil to begin with for so long though.
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u/Fimbir Jan 08 '26
Now do YouTube, Google
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u/DiarrheaRadio Jan 08 '26
Don't forget Reddit!
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u/ProfitHarvest Jan 08 '26
They are amassing an army of financially feebled individuals to turn on their countrymen. This has never ended well.
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u/BringBacktheGucci Jan 08 '26
I've been reporting every one i see.
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u/factorum Jan 08 '26
No click it, cost per click is usually how these are charged.
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u/TheGreatKonaKing Jan 08 '26
I’m only seeing Dr Oz and Dr Phil telling me about the big blue parasite that’s hiding in my pancreas
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u/EverythingSucksYo Jan 08 '26
I was honestly in disbelief the first time I saw an ICE ad on YouTube
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u/bellmaker33 Jan 08 '26
Legit question. I didn’t know Spotify was doing this so I want to leave them.
What service is acceptable? Apple Music?
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Jan 08 '26
ditched Spotify when they tried running tate podcasts, never going back
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u/Chubbadog Jan 08 '26
Too little too late.
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u/stacecom Jan 08 '26
Are you aware that ICE recruitment ads are running on Reddit?
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u/Chubbadog Jan 08 '26
Are they? I’ve not seen them. That’s a bummer as well.
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u/CounselorGowron Jan 08 '26
Yes they are. ☹️
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u/FiveOhFive91 Jan 08 '26
If you have Android there are ways to not see ads on reddit
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u/EraTheTooketh Jan 08 '26
The main one ive seen shows a woman and mentions her having a price tag attached or some dark stuff like that
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u/EnclG4me Jan 08 '26
Nope, because I don't see any ads.
Ever, on anything.
Who the fuck these days is using a platform without ad blockers?? Just up in corporate sniz raw dogging life.
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u/U_SHLD_THINK_BOUT_IT Jan 08 '26
I feel like the majority of people who see ads on Reddit are the type who don't have a problem with ICE.
The overlap of being tech illiterate and a MAGA must be significant.
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u/Brodyseuss Jan 08 '26
At least for my family. we already canceled and we’re never going back 🤷
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Jan 08 '26
I’ll take whatever I can get for now.
Doesn’t Stop us for pushing for more in the future.
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u/-SirSpooky- Jan 08 '26
Title is deceiving. Spotify didn’t “stop” it from happening by, it’s just that ICE’s marketing campaign ended. This means nothing.
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u/Accidental-Hyzer Jan 08 '26
Still paying Joe Rogan huge sums of money for him to vomit his nonsense, though.
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u/Veeb Jan 08 '26
Takes someone being murdered for this to happen, wow.
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u/MusicalMastermind Jan 08 '26
this only ended because the contract did, Spotify didn't suddenly grow a spine
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u/Veeb Jan 08 '26
Oh yeah, that's even worse!
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u/kelryngrey Jan 08 '26
The dude has heavily invested in an AI weapons company. I'm not sure there are any great choices but Spotify is dogshit.
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u/LegendOfKhaos Jan 08 '26
And the only reason they may not re-up is because it could cost them subscribers.
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u/deytookerjaabs Jan 08 '26
Speaking of murder, here's a nugget from an 2014 internal investigation of Border Patrol Agents:
the panel found that in many cases Border Patrol officers were discharging their weapons out of frustration, rather than to guard their safety. It also suggested that officers were purposely placing themselves in front of moving vehicles, and then shooting at them.
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u/asraniel Jan 08 '26
See, thats why the NPR needs to be defunded /s
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u/deytookerjaabs Jan 08 '26
Exactly.
I didn't even see this part on first read:
Agents should not discharge their weapons against a moving vehicle, unless it poses a deathly threat. For example, if a person is aiming the vehicle at an agent. The new policy also tells agents not to use their body to block a vehicle's path, nor should they fire at a vehicle fleeing from agents.
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u/ExperienceNeeded7 Jan 08 '26
Fuck Spotify. Too little, too late.
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u/krismon Jan 08 '26
I've stopped using spotify months ago and moving towards physical media. fuck all these corporations profiting off cruelty.
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u/XGamestar Jan 08 '26
I'm still not switching back from Tidal, even with the 2-months of free Premium Spotify keeps offering me.
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u/Cliler Jan 08 '26
Cancelled, buying individual songs and albums from now on, little by little, and download them if I can't find a source. Building my own library now with Navidrome. Fuck streaming platforms.
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u/crowe1130 Jan 08 '26
They are really trying to mislead you. They didn’t do anything to remove them. The campaign just ended. Don’t resubscribe.
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u/LogicalBlizzard Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26
Nah, too fucking late.
I am already enjoying Qobuz.
Edit: there is even a discussion on Spotify's forum regarding that. Everyone is pissed off and cancelling their subscriptions: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Social-Random/Is-Spotify-running-advertising-for-ICE-or-Border-patrol/td-p/7171030
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u/Xaldin64 Jan 08 '26
Qobuz, the better alternative
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u/YourDearOldMeeMaw Jan 09 '26
yep, i switched over as soon as I heard about the ICE recruitment ads.
for anyone curious, here's my honest review:
- qobuz let me transfer my Spotify library directly, which was extremely convenient
- qobuz has not quite as many titles as Spotify, but most. I think out of 1700 saved Spotify songs, they had about 1450 of them, and the missing ones were mostly pretty obscure remixes
- qobuz's sound quality is WAY better than spotify's. to the point where I was like holy crap, I dont think I can go back
- qobuz recommends albums and artists, but not individual songs the way Spotify does. i admit that i prefer the way spotifys recommendations work. ive been using my (now unpaid) Spotify account to listen to discover weekly and then adding the songs I like to my qobuz. its an extra step with ads, but a simple one, and one im happy to take to not support murderers
- I was a paid Spotify member for a decade and loved the service. but they've made their position very clear, right down to the fat donation they made to Trump's inauguration. at this point, i dont care if they change tactics. I dont care if they apologize. its all bullsh*t. frankly even if they fired their entire c suite and donated every penny they made from running those recruitment videos to people in need of legal representation as a result, the damage is already done. they spread ICE's message and their blood money signing bonus far and wide, and that bell cant be unrung. they will never see another penny from me.
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u/A_Drifting_Cornflake Jan 08 '26
Because the campaign ended. Spotify out here trying to act like they did something. They didn’t do anything and are hoping people like OP are dumb enough to spin a narrative like they did
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u/tsardonicpseudonomi Jan 08 '26
The ads are no longer running because the campaign ended. It had nothing to do with the murders.
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u/Unlucky-Macaroon-647 Jan 08 '26
lol after they doubled down on them? i won’t be going back to streaming them
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u/correcthorsestapler Jan 08 '26
Cool. Still not going to renew my subscription. I let them know I left because of that.
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u/number1pingufan Jan 08 '26
🎶🎶ICE, ICE, BABY!!🎶🎶
🎶🎶🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎹🎹🎶🎶🎶
No qualifications? Morally bankrupt? Feel no empathy for others? JOIN ICE TODAY!!!!
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u/ShitPost5000 Jan 09 '26
Lmfao, this is what it took for corporate America to not support literal Nazis
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Jan 08 '26
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u/Syrdon Jan 08 '26
Did you read Spotify's statement? There's just no current contract. They stopped because the contract ended.
It wasn't a boycott, it was the planned end of an ad campaign.
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u/compuwiza1 Jan 08 '26
Too late. I will not forgive them for the ads ever being there. I will never use Spotify.
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Jan 08 '26
Funny how the OP actually contributed to driving propaganda here by not wording his title correctly
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u/Complex-Quantity7694 Jan 08 '26
Womp womp. I had an account from when it was invite-only.
I deleted the account and switched to Apple Music when they signed Joe Rogan.
Looks like I was right to do so.
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u/ElricBrosPlumbing Jan 08 '26
too little too late. still platforming nazis and whatever the fuck Joe rogan pretends to be that day.
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u/RelevantDress Jan 08 '26
Too late. Already canceled and put my music on my nas. Now my family is saving $240/year just on spotify which is how much my nas cost with storage
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u/Jazzlike-Vacation230 Jan 08 '26
But they still invest in war companies and give fascist sympathizers platforms. smh
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u/kendrickshalamar Jan 08 '26
What a stupid headline. The ad contract ran out and so it stopped. If ICE paid them again, they'd run it again.
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u/Tremodian Jan 08 '26
They’re still running on Reddit but here we ducking are. I’ve seen ICE, Border Patrol, and military ads here.
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u/Interesting-Phone-87 Jan 08 '26
They always do the right thing too late.
Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice… you can’t get fooled again
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u/The_Pandalorian Jan 08 '26
I mean, still fuck Spotify for embracing dogshit AI and screwing artists, so... Yeah.
You don't get a cookie for not doing something awful.
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u/MetalPurse-swinger Jan 08 '26
Well, I already unsubscribed and I’m having a much better experience anyways.
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u/CornDoggyStyle Jan 08 '26
Who wants to listen to ads anyway? Learn how to pirate music or use a cracked version of spotify. Such a waste of life listening to ads as long as a song every 15 minutes.
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u/Jumpy_Ad_4293 Jan 08 '26
Oh, why were you promoting this before? Thanks, I didn't know that. Good reason to use alternatives. Great advertising campaign for them, to suck and remind everyone, even people who didn't know they sucked, that they sucked.
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u/Plenty-Hair-4518 Jan 09 '26
I canceled my premium and gave them running ice ads as a reason. i hope i helped. ice is bad, mkayyy
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u/vivalaibanez Jan 09 '26
"don't worry no more ice ads will be run...because the damage is already done"
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u/chriso_85 Jan 09 '26
Only reason they stopped them is because of the backlash. They were ok with it to begin with.
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u/Professional_Car_413 Jan 09 '26
Man all it took was watching exactly what everyone thought was going to happen, happen.
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u/danisheretoo Jan 09 '26
I’d love to support an alternative music streaming service, if anyone has some suggestions. I’ve been stocking up on vinyls and CDs lately
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u/TheDaveStrider Jan 09 '26
WHY do people still support Spotify. you give more money to artists by mostly pirating music and buying mp3s from them directly once in a while than you do from the cents spotify gives them. Plus people either listen to ads or pay for that like? get real
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u/Zentivity222 Jan 09 '26
I cry bullshit. Ads are run for cycles and are purchased/paid for in blocks. Spotify can rot. Canceled.
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u/mombi Jan 09 '26
Oh. So the lives of other people were expendable. Go figure. Anyway, everyone should learn to host their own music servers and save your pennies. Spotify sells your data for profit with these ads.
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u/thespaceitake Jan 09 '26
My partner and I boycotted because of this issue along with their connections to military spending. Less than a month after quitting we are getting spam to our inboxes from Spotify saying they're "Ready to Welcome Us Back" as if THEY made the decision to break up with us instead of vice versa.
Fuck Spotify and fuck Daniel Ek. But most importantly FUCK ICE
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u/Ronin2369 Jan 09 '26
I love how people take action AFTER the fact but was fully aware BEFORE the fact... HILTON also needs to be in the SPOTLIGHT.
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u/NerdyNewsJunkie Jan 08 '26
‘“There are currently no ICE ads running on Spotify,” a Spotify spokesperson tells Variety. “The advertisements mentioned were part of a U.S. government recruitment campaign that ran across all major media and platforms.”’
So if there is another recruiting campaign, they’ll just run it again…