Spotify is facing heavy criticism after reports revealed that numerous fake podcasts promoting the sale of powerful and addictive prescription drugs like Xanax, Oxycodone and Tramadol were available on the platform.

According to CNN reports, podcast titles such as "My Adderall Store" and "Xtrapharma.com" featured episodes named "Order Codeine Online Safe Pharmacy Louisiana" and "Order Xanax 2 mg Online Big Deal On Christmas Season."

These episodes included links leading listeners to external websites selling the drugs.

Despite Spotify’s content moderation tools, the platform failed to detect and remove these fake podcasts. The unrestricted availability of such content on a service used widely by teenagers has raised concerns about the company’s safety policies and could potentially lead to legal complications.

Auto-detection tools fail to block dangerous content

Spotify’s automated systems designed to detect and block rule-breaking content did not catch these fake shows. Although the company claims to be actively monitoring for harmful material, these podcasts remained accessible to users, exposing millions to illegal drug sales.

Previously, Business Insider reported that Spotify had taken down around 200 podcasts related to illegal drug promotions. However, social media users were quick to point out that the sale of drugs through podcasts continued even after the purge.

Criticism on social media over Spotify’s inaction

Tech blogger Lauren Balik highlighted the issue on social media platform X, writing, "It's amazing how much illegal drug distribution goes through Spotify. Opioids, benzos, amphetamines, you name it."

She directly called out Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, posting, "CEO Daniel Ek @eldsjal: this is unacceptable and 100% solvable if your 'ML' and 'AI' capabilities actually exist, or are you just asleep at the wheel?"

Spotify responds with promise to take action

In response to growing backlash, Spotify released a brief statement acknowledging the issue.

"We are constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service," a company spokesperson said.

Past allegations against Spotify’s practices

This is not the first time Spotify has faced criticism over questionable practices. The platform has previously been accused of promoting so-called “ghost artists” — creators of cheap, generic music — allegedly to avoid paying royalties to genuine musicians.

Reports suggest Spotify runs a secret internal programme called Perfect Fit Content (PFC). Under this scheme, affiliated production teams create low-cost background music that is placed on Spotify’s curated playlists. First introduced in 2010, PFC became a major cost-saving initiative for the company by 2017.