Internal emails released by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) show that the Biden administration issued a new version of the book in early 2021, citing concerns that the book contained “propaganda” and “misinformation.” It appears that there was pressure on Amazon to censor books related to coronavirus vaccines.
The documents were obtained by the House Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government through Jordan’s subpoena. It was said in the X thread He dubbed Monday the “Amazon Files.”
“Who can I turn to about sophisticated propaganda, misinformation and disinformation? [sic] Amazon? ” Andrew Slavitt, former White House senior advisor for COVID-19, wrote to online retailers in an email dated March 2, 2021, published by Jordan.
“Search for ‘vaccine’ under books and see what comes up,” Slavitt wrote in a follow-up message the same day. “We haven’t seen anything beyond that, but if that’s what’s on the surface, that’s concerning.”
Amazon officials initially balked at implementing a “manual intervention” to remove certain book titles from display, arguing that they would be “too conspicuous” and lead to further scrutiny.
“There will be no manual intervention today,” an email between Amazon executives said. “The team/public relations feel very strongly that this issue is too high profile and will make the Harry and Sally story even worse (apparently received the FOX News treatment today), and that customer action Because of this, the problem will not be solved in the long run, comrades. ”
An Amazon official (whose name is redacted in the email) said another person at the company, whose name has also been redacted, told them to “don’t do anything that’s boring or visibly draws attention.” He gave very direct guidance to the team.” ”
The email states that adjustments are underway to the bookstore’s website that will redirect more customers searching for specific keywords to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, and that it will send screenshots of the changes to the White House. It states that it is required, but warns employees. This is to discourage the Biden administration from taking further action.
” [White House] You’re probably asking why you don’t tag your content with something like: [Facebook]/If we don’t take it down, so should Twitter,” an Amazon official wrote. “That’s an option we’re considering, but we don’t want to publish it to avoid being boxed in.”
Amazon defended its bookselling practices in a separate internal email dated March 2, 2021, noting that its guidelines “do not specifically address content about vaccines” and that “retailers should not It’s different,” he said.
A week later, on March 9, 2021, Amazon met with White House officials and the company’s “biggest topic” was the Biden administration’s blacklisting of books from websites, according to the email. The question was whether this was what they wanted, or whether they should be suppressed through search results.
“Are the admins asking us to remove books, or are they more concerned about search results and/or order?” reads the company email.
In a separate email discussing upcoming negative publicity about a COVID-19 vaccine book sold by Amazon, one person said the company was “responsible for pressure from the White House task force on this issue as well.” “I feel it,” he admitted.
The pressure exerted by the Biden administration appears to have worked, as the company issued a “no-promotion” order on an “anti-vaccine book” on the same day that Amazon officials met with the White House.
“As a precaution, on March 9 we put into effect a promotional ban on anti-vaccine books whose primary purpose is to convince readers that vaccines are unsafe or ineffective. We will be evaluating handling options,” an email between company employees said. .
Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and the Weaponization Subcommittee, said both committees would investigate the censorship allegations.
“That’s right. Amazon bowed to President Biden’s pressure to censor speech,” Jordan said in a tweet.
Amazon did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
In March, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana alleging that the Biden administration conspired with social media companies to suppress free speech related to the coronavirus pandemic. I plan to.
Last summer, a U.S. district court ruled that administration officials forced companies like Twitter and Facebook to censor content over concerns it would lead to vaccine hesitancy.
The appeals court subsequently barred numerous White House officials, the FBI, the Surgeon General, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from communicating with social media companies.
The Supreme Court issued an order in October last year suspending the appellate court order until the case is decided.
