Amazon is in turmoil again after being accused by US officials of promoting anti-vaccine books. Indeed, it suffices to type “COVID-19 vaccine” to come across several conspiratorial works, in the midst of other more serious ones. For its part, the platform claims that its algorithm offers a multitude of results.
Since the start of the pandemic, websites and social networks wage war on anti-vaccine content. Facebook, in particular, has put in place several measures to block conspiratorial content and other fake news. But it seems that some people try harder than others. Indeed, Amazon does little to stop the sale of anti-vaccine books or questioning the existence of COVID-19. Alerted on this subject, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff, representative of California, sent a letter to Andy Jassy, CEO of the firm.
It must be said that it is not very complicated to come across an anti-vaccine book on the site. By simply typing “Covid-19 vaccine” in the search bar, the third result is a book describing COVID-19 as a “weapon of mass destruction” and a “tool for the depopulation of the world and the degeneration of organs”. He is far from the only one. Many books of the same ilk are found frequently at the top of the platform’s sales.
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Amazon unscrupulously sells many anti-vaccine books
According to Elizabeth Warren, Amazon’s disregard for fake news is “An unethical, unacceptable and potentially illegal practice on the part of one of the largest companies in the country”. For his part, Adam Schiff has expressed his desire to prevent “The rapid and dangerous spread of this anti-vaccine misinformation that prevents Americans from accessing the valid, factual information they need to protect themselves from the virus”.
The case comes days after the e-commerce giant was accused of funding pirate sites. However, the latter defends himself by asserting that he “Constantly evaluates the books it lists to ensure they meet its content guidelines. As an additional service for customers, at the top of search results pages, Amazon displays a link to CDC guidance on Covid-19 and measures to protect against it ”.
