In the wake of the recent attack on the U.S. Capitol, Amazon is doing its bits to tackle the issue as the tech behemoth reportedly banned QAnon products and merchandise from its online marketplace.
As the news first surfaced on Reuters, Amazon revealed last Monday (1/11) that the company has been working to remove some of the problematic products to prohibit offensive items and inappropriate content.
"Amazon previously has come under fire for - and removed the listings of - products promoting extremist views, such as books denying the Holocaust," the Reuters report reads.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory, believing that satanic pedophile elites are running a global sex-trafficking ring and plotting against the current U.S. President, Donald Trump. According to them, the president is gearing up a secret war against them in government, business, and the media. Several signs and banners of "Q," short for "Q-Anon," were unrolled and winched high during the U.S. Capitol riot that killed five people.
QAnon conspiracy backers tend to push their theories on social media and stamp them with "Q," while citing baseless knowledge from an "insider" for US President Donald Trump.
Parler Controversies
Previously, Amazon has also stopped its Amazon Web Service (AWS) for Parler, a so-called "free speech" social media that gained its momentum during the 2020 presidential election in the U.S.
Parler's short-lived era started in 2018 when John Matze and Jared Thompson founded the company in Nevada. Several high-profile names, including Fox News' commentator Dan Bongino and investor Rebekah Mercer, have supported the social media platform since the very beginning.
Parler saw a spike in downloads after Big Techs, notably Facebook and Twitter, started labeling problematic and fraudulent speech. The decision sparked a heated debate online, giving Parler a chance to top the App Store's most downloaded chart.
Unfortunately, the reign did not last very long as both Google and Apple decided to remove the app from their respective App and Play Store services, followed by Amazon's AWS.
Big Tech vs. Conspiracies
As the world entered the new era of the internet, Big Techs have a massive job ahead to stop the spread of conspiracy theories, especially during such an unprecedented time caused by COVID-19 outbreaks.
Last February, Twitter became the first social media to stamp labels to misleading content to warn its users before viewing. In some severe cases, Twitter automatically removes content "when it's clear that it is intended to cause certain type of harm."
Several QAnon accounts, including Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell, were banned from Twitter last Friday. As CNBC reported, both are active in the QAnon community as the suspensions came in the wake of the U.S. Capitol riot.
"Given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content," Twitter says in a statement.
