Amazon accused of promoting anti-vaccine propaganda
Books and movies full of anti-vaccination conspiracy theories were found to have been dominating Amazon's online stores, raising concerns that t he company prioriti ses free speech over public health . A search for the word 'vaccine' on Amazon US returned books and movies dominated by anti-vaccination content, with 15 of 18 books and movies listed containing anti-vaccination content. These were published under titles such as 'We Don’t Vaccinate!' and 'Shoot ‘Em Up: The Truth About Vaccines,' as well as under more misleading titles like 'Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies: 400 Important Scientific Papers Summarized for Parents and Researchers,' according to CNN . The finding prompted US Congressman Adam Schiff to complain to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that his company was serving up anti-vaccine propaganda and accepting paid advertising for anti-vaccine media. System 🤖 Amazon US 🔗 Operator: Amazon users Developer: Amazon Country: USA Sector: Retail Purpose: Recommend books, movies Technology: Recommendation algorithm Issue: Mis/disinformation; Freedom of expression - censorship Legal, regulatory 👩🏼⚖️ Adam Shiff (2019). SCHIFF SENDS LETTER TO AMAZON CEO REGARDING ANTI-VACCINE MISINFORMATION
- Date it happened
- 2019-02-01
- Organisation involved
- Amazon users
- Product, system or model
- Amazon Recommendation System
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