Right-of-Center Books Hidden from Amazon Search Results
May 15th, 2021 5:10 PM
Notable upcoming books released by conservative authors have suddenly disappeared from Amazon’s search results.
Conservative author and New York Post editor Sohrab Ahmari’s book on America’s abandonment of virtuous ethical and religious traditions is among books that appear to be shadow-banned within a week of its launch.
“My new book, THE UNBROKEN THREAD: DISCOVERING THE WISDOM OF TRADITION has disappeared from Amazon search results,” Ahmari tweeted. “You can still find the product if you have the exact link but it doesn’t show up in search. Big Tech and Bezos are at war with my ideas.”
Hilbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, Under Siege: No Finer Time to be a Faithful Catholic by Austin Ruse, and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis also disappeared from search results.
“Amazon is suppressing my new book, Under Siege: No Finer Time to be a Faithful Catholic. It is now hidden,” Ruse tweeted. “Can only find it by going through one of my older books to "Frequently Bought Together.”
After sparking outrage on Twitter, Amazon restored several of the books to its search results.
Amazon is no stranger to censoring books that advocate for conservative ideas.
When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, written by President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D. was completely removed from Amazon earlier in the year.
“No notification to me. I found out when someone trying to buy it noted it was gone,” Anderson tweeted at the time.
Another Twitter user noted that while Anderson’s book had been removed from the site, another book promoting transgenderism was available. Let Harry Become Sally: Responding to the Anti-Transgender Moment is the supposed rebuttal to Anderson’s book.
“Buy the other Harry/Sally book, and then read this one to understand the realities of the issue,” the product description reads.
Amazon also allowed author Phillip R. Greaves II to self-publish a book, The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct.
“I wrote the book to establish guidelines so that people would behave in a manner that is non-injurious to each other,” Greaves told ABC at the time.
The book was only pulled from Amazon after public outrage and the arrest of the author.
In response to criticism, Amazon attempts to defend its removal of certain conservative books as an effort to “protect” users against “hate speech.”
“We don’t sell certain content including content that we determine is hate speech, promotes the abuse or sexual exploitation of children, contains pornography, glorifies rape or pedophilia, advocates terrorism, or other material we deem inappropriate or offensive,” Amazon claimed in its book policy.
Meanwhile, the Media Research Center conducted a study earlier in the year and found hundreds of hateful products currently being sold on the site. Concerning items included terrorist flags, Nazi symbols, and anti-religious graphic T-shirts. In the study, the Media Research Center counted 270 hateful products being sold on Amazon.