Spotify removed thousands of podcasts promoting online prescription drug sales, investigation finds
Spotify has been forced to remove tens of thousands of phony podcasts promoting illegal online pharmacies, a new congressional investigation reveals, following earlier reports by CNN and Business Insider. The crackdown, which saw 3,500 accounts and 57,000 episodes purged between May and November 2025, highlights how bad actors are exploiting major audio platforms for a 'spam attack' designed to game search algorithms and push illicit prescription drugs like Adderall and OxyContin. This latest report, released by Senator Maggie Hassan's office on June 11, 2026, sharply criticizes Spotify for its slow response and failure to alert law enforcement to the egregious violations.

















