Ed Sheeran hit by viral false claims after Macklemore controversy To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Ed Sheeran’s controversial US tour has sparked a wave of viral rumours. A false claim that his music was removed from Spotify racked up more than 3 million views on X, despite his his music remaining available. Another video, viewed over 14 million times, falsely suggested Sheeran was now defiantly performing solo after all his support acts withdrew, but not only is the footage dated, but Sheeran has indeed replaced the backing musicians.
Vedika Bahl fact-checks in _Truth or Fake._ It's the tour that's become engulfed in controversy, since rapper Macklemore was removed from the line-up over his pro-Palestinian comments on stage, triggering an avalanche of all the support acts to pull out in solidarity with Macklemore and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The dispute has also fuelled a wave of claims online, including two viral posts falsely portraying developments around Sheeran’s shows. One claim suggested Sheeran’s music had been removed from Spotify following the backlash.
The post, shared by an account called _HoopsCrave_, amassed more than 3 million views on _X._ But there is no evidence that Spotify has removed Sheeran’s music. His songs remain available on the streaming platform, and there has been no announcement from Spotify confirming any such decision. The account behind the claim is also labelled "Parody and Satire" on its _X_ profile, an important detail that was missed by many users who shared the post.
The only legitimate online result regarding the removal of Sheeran's music involves a decision by Irish radio station Classic Hits Radio, which said it had removed his songs from its playlist “for the foreseeable future” following listener feedback. A second viral claim focused on Sheeran’s performances following the withdrawal of several support acts. Viewed more than 14 million times, a video was shared with a caption suggesting Sheeran was defiantly continuing the tour alone after his opening acts cancelled and his band quit.
The clip shows Sheeran performing with his loop pedal at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2022, during his Mathematics Tour. The same footage was published online years before the current controversy, including in connection with Sheeran’s documentary. The suggestion that Sheeran has been performing entirely alone is also misleading.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
