Spotify has removed more than 57,000 fake podcast episodes linked to websites involved in illegal drug sales and scams. The discovery came following a report by the US Congress that revealed criminals were using such fake podcasts to manipulate search engine rankings. Spotify has acknowledged the need to strengthen its systems to prevent the spread of this AI-generated fraudulent content.
The world’s largest audio streaming platform, Spotify, took down thousands of fake podcast episodes and shows associated with illegal drug trafficking and scam websites over the past year. In total, over 57,000 podcast episodes and more than 3,000 podcast shows were removed. Additionally, approximately 3,500 user accounts involved in these activities were banned.
The issue surfaced after a US Congressional report led by Senator Maggie Hassan exposed the extensive network of fake podcasts operating on Spotify. The report raised serious concerns about Spotify’s vulnerabilities and the risks posed by these fake podcasts. According to the report, these podcasts were created not for genuine listeners but primarily to influence search engine optimization (SEO) rankings.
By including links to Spotify, these illegal websites were easily ranked highly on search engines like Google. According to information provided by Spotify to investigators, 94% of the removed episodes had never been listened to, and 99% had less than 10 plays. However, a small number of podcasts were streamed by thousands of users and included instructions on how to illegally purchase drugs using cryptocurrency.
