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Amazon Deletes Reviews of Conservative Authors with No Explanation

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nota bene

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From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

It seems that the new definition of hate speech is simply speech that some review panel hates to read. Since this is not a government action it is not likely to be illegal or unconstitutional. A possible exception would require evidence that members of a protected class were being targeted - in that case civil rights (not free speech rights) may have been violated. It is unclear to me if access to social media has been considered (declared as?) a public accomodation, if so it would seem that discrimination against a protected class (only?) would be illegal.

Examples of Illegal Discrimination | Dubuque, IA - Official Website
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

I call fake news on this.
Only ultra-conservative websites have this alleged news because they all feed off each other.
If you Google the topic, half the references are the deletion of Clinton book reviews.
(Amazon deleted conservative book reviews topic was googled).
 
Why Did Amazon Delete My Book Reviews?

· "We do not permit reviews or votes on the helpfulness of reviews that are posted in exchange for compensation of any kind."

· "We do not permit reviews of the same ASIN from customers in the same household."

· "… family members or close friends of the person, group, or company selling on Amazon may not write Customer Reviews …
Click to expand...

Amazon will also delete if it suspects troll/bot reviews...

Amazon said:
"We never suppress reviews based on star rating or sentiment." Instead, triggers to detect a large amount of activity in a short amount of time were activated. Then Amazon goes in and suppresses all non-verified purchase reviews."
Click to expand...
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

This is just one of many "reckonings" that have to happen in this country. Since when does Big Data and FAANG get the right to choke off the conservative air supply by denying them representation in the digital world? Microsoft successfully did that with browsers and other up and coming competitors, and the regulators barked and nipped, but who won? Microsoft.

I sure we won't be reading this article in the WaPo since Amazon's owner owns it. The same Amazon owner that now is complicit in burying conservative opinions that are rarely in line with his view of the world.
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

I always wonder though why Amazon, even if they should be left of Lenin--I don't know the political persuasion of the book managers--would remove a positive acclaim for a book they could sell thousands of copies of. But apparently they are removing a lot of reviews that they deem robo-reviews or in which somebody has a personal interest in or financial interest in the success of the book, this to give at least an illusion of integrity in the process.

This piece in the NY Times--not exactly the most accurate or impartial source out there--describes their rationale though it doesn't mention ideology as one of the criterias they look at:

Amazon Book Reviews Deleted in a Purge Aimed at Manipulation - The New York Times

. . .Giving raves to family members is no longer acceptable. Neither is writers’ reviewing other writers. But showering five stars on a book you admittedly have not read is fine.

After several well-publicized cases involving writers buying or manipulating their reviews, Amazon is cracking down. Writers say thousands of reviews have been deleted from the shopping site in recent months.

Amazon has not said how many reviews it has killed, nor has it offered any public explanation. So its sweeping but hazy purge has generated an uproar about what it means to review in an era when everyone is an author and everyone is a reviewer. . .

. . .In explaining its purge of reviews, Amazon has told some writers that “we do not allow reviews on behalf of a person or company with a financial interest in the product or a directly competing product. This includes authors.” But writers say that rule is not applied consistently.

In some cases, the ax fell on those with a direct relationship with the author.

“My sister’s and best friend’s reviews were removed from my books,” the author M. E. Franco said in a blog comment. “They happen to be two of my biggest fans.” Another writer, Valerie X. Armstrong, said her son’s five-star review of her book, “The Survival of the Fattest,” was removed. He immediately tried to put it back “and it wouldn’t take,” she wrote.

In other cases, though, the relationship was more tenuous. Michelle Gagnon lost three reviews on her young adult novel “Don’t Turn Around.” She said she did not know two of the reviewers, while the third was a longtime fan of her work. “How does Amazon know we know each other?” she said. “That’s where I started to get creeped out.” . . .​
 
Addendum to previous post: I just checked the offerings of Ann Coulter's books on Amazon--you don't get any more hardline conservative than her--and on her most recent book there are more than 1700 reviews that have not been deleted and far more positive than negative ones. So maybe the conservatives complaining have been padding their reviews? Hard to say.

I review a LOT of Amazon books and don't think any of my reviews have ever been removed. But I haven't checked either.
 
AlbqOwl said:
Addendum to previous post: I just checked the offerings of Ann Coulter's books on Amazon--you don't get any more hardline conservative than her--and on her most recent book there are more than 1700 reviews that have not been deleted and far more positive than negative ones. So maybe the conservatives complaining have been padding their reviews? Hard to say.

I review a LOT of Amazon books and don't think any of my reviews have ever been removed. But I haven't checked either.
Click to expand...

If you do check, I'd really like to know. One conservative Hispanic author quoted in the article, Jon Del Arroz, says, "I believe the CLFA was targeted by an extreme alt-left troll mob running an email harassment campaign to Amazon who were enabled by a rogue Amazon employee." Maybe he's paranoid because of his own experiences (linked in article), but maybe this particular group is being targeted. I don't know.
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

They are likely deleting reviews posted by bots. In some cases the reviews have a genuine human poster, but in others it is probably perpetrated by foriegn states. I bet there are liberal examples of this as well.
 
CriticalThought said:
They are likely deleting reviews posted by bots. In some cases the reviews have a genuine human poster, but in others it is probably perpetrated by foriegn states. I bet there are liberal examples of this as well.
Click to expand...

Maybe so. Bears watching, don't you think?
 
CriticalThought said:
They are likely deleting reviews posted by bots. In some cases the reviews have a genuine human poster, but in others it is probably perpetrated by foriegn states. I bet there are liberal examples of this as well.
Click to expand...

No, this is a trend. First Youtube, then Google accounts, then Twitter, now Amazon? The anti-conservative purge from Silicon Valley is in full effect.
 
AlbqOwl said:
Addendum to previous post: I just checked the offerings of Ann Coulter's books on Amazon--you don't get any more hardline conservative than her--and on her most recent book there are more than 1700 reviews that have not been deleted and far more positive than negative ones. So maybe the conservatives complaining have been padding their reviews? Hard to say.

I review a LOT of Amazon books and don't think any of my reviews have ever been removed. But I haven't checked either.
Click to expand...

I did some investigating on the process used by Amazon to identify "suspect" reviews. It seems to hinge on how the reviewer learned of the book being offered for sale by Amazon. Some sites seem to limit reviews based on "verified purcahse" meaning that if you did not buy the item from them then your review may be scrubbed.

Why Has Amazon Removed My Book Review?
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

Wasn't this a story from sometime last year?
 
Love Amazon.....now even more than before. Don't worry Trumpy's you can always go to The Great Wal-mart of China
 
AlbqOwl said:
Addendum to previous post: I just checked the offerings of Ann Coulter's books on Amazon--you don't get any more hardline conservative than her--and on her most recent book there are more than 1700 reviews that have not been deleted and far more positive than negative ones. So maybe the conservatives complaining have been padding their reviews? Hard to say.

I review a LOT of Amazon books and don't think any of my reviews have ever been removed. But I haven't checked either.
Click to expand...
I review books on Amazon from time to time, though not often, and I've never had a review deleted, either. There are people on the extremes of either side that will spam reviews to suit their agenda, so I get the concern. This is why I believe Amazon should restrict reviews to verified purchases only. One purchase, one vote, so to speak. I know they tell you now, as if people reading will discern that and factor it in, but I don't think most people are that nuanced. Just telling them isn't enough.

I did have one deleted on another item once, but I just made a pun about the name of the product and didn't review the product at all, so I figured I deserved that one.
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

First of all, pjmedia. For people who scream about fake news, that's your source?

Now, not to deflate your persecution complex, but companies like Amazon walk a fine line to keep their reviews section from turning into a partisan ****show. Ever hear anybody say "Don't read the comments?" Reviews are the comments section of Amazon.

Also, what the hell happens pro-Trump dystopian fiction?
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

A lot of time "reviews" are planted just like books rise in sales because entities by them in blocks.
 
Isn't pro-Trump fiction what happens in WH press briefings?
 
Inauthentic reviews are made on Amazon all the time and there are purges regularly. Electronics and political works in particular are lightning rods for inauthentic reviews.
 
Plot line for pro-Trump fiction: the Deep State crucifies Trump, but he rises again in 3 days to save us from Obama's sins.
 
AlbqOwl said:
I always wonder though why Amazon, even if they should be left of Lenin--I don't know the political persuasion of the book managers--would remove a positive acclaim for a book they could sell thousands of copies of. But apparently they are removing a lot of reviews that they deem robo-reviews or in which somebody has a personal interest in or financial interest in the success of the book, this to give at least an illusion of integrity in the process.

This piece in the NY Times--not exactly the most accurate or impartial source out there--describes their rationale though it doesn't mention ideology as one of the criterias they look at:

Amazon Book Reviews Deleted in a Purge Aimed at Manipulation - The New York Times

. . .Giving raves to family members is no longer acceptable. Neither is writers’ reviewing other writers. But showering five stars on a book you admittedly have not read is fine.

After several well-publicized cases involving writers buying or manipulating their reviews, Amazon is cracking down. Writers say thousands of reviews have been deleted from the shopping site in recent months.

Amazon has not said how many reviews it has killed, nor has it offered any public explanation. So its sweeping but hazy purge has generated an uproar about what it means to review in an era when everyone is an author and everyone is a reviewer. . .

. . .In explaining its purge of reviews, Amazon has told some writers that “we do not allow reviews on behalf of a person or company with a financial interest in the product or a directly competing product. This includes authors.” But writers say that rule is not applied consistently.

In some cases, the ax fell on those with a direct relationship with the author.

“My sister’s and best friend’s reviews were removed from my books,” the author M. E. Franco said in a blog comment. “They happen to be two of my biggest fans.” Another writer, Valerie X. Armstrong, said her son’s five-star review of her book, “The Survival of the Fattest,” was removed. He immediately tried to put it back “and it wouldn’t take,” she wrote.

In other cases, though, the relationship was more tenuous. Michelle Gagnon lost three reviews on her young adult novel “Don’t Turn Around.” She said she did not know two of the reviewers, while the third was a longtime fan of her work. “How does Amazon know we know each other?” she said. “That’s where I started to get creeped out.” . . .​
Click to expand...

Because Amazon's customers who buy said books get pissed when they buy a book based on a bunch of "fake" positive reviews. Amazon sells books partly based upon unbiased customer reviews, that system gets poisoned, they're going to lose sales based upon reviews.
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

Translation: Conservative trolls are complaining that their attempt at trolling five star reviews for their own books are not working.
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:
Click to expand...
PJ Media... lol


Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works....
Click to expand...
Yawn

Amazon periodically purges reviews. All types of reviews. They don't do it based on anyone's ideology. They don't tell anyone why, because lots of people try to game the system and give themselves better reviews.

There's even a Reddit which tries to track the purges:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheGreatAmazonPurge/
 
Interesting thought process...

"Hmmm. I can't actually dispute the point. It doesn't suit my agenda. What should I do? Oh, I know... discredit the source. That's it. Then I don't have to actually do anything. I'm so smart. :mrgreen:"

Seriously, :roll:
 
nota bene said:
From PJ Media:

Amazon frightened many conservative authors this week in a mass deletion of reviews. Some authors lost almost 100 reviews on their published works. Others lost all the reviews they had ever written on Amazon. Some lost both. Information about the purge began to trickle out in the closed Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance (CLFA) Facebook group. Member after member began reporting the losses at the same time. Marina Fontaine, whose credits include the dystopian Chasing Freedom, the pro-Trump fiction anthology MAGA2020, and moderating the CLFA page, reported many members experiencing losses. A coordinated effort was launched to contact Amazon for explanation.

Amazon’s weasel response: “…Unfortunately, we won't be able to discuss the specifics about why the reviews were removed as we'll only be able to discuss that with the individuals who posted the reviews.” https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazon-deletes-reviews-conservative-authors-no-explanation/

The good news is that some of those who asked had their reviews restored. The bad news is considering that these people may have been politically targeted and that Amazon let it happen.
Click to expand...

C'mon, nota... you're better than this. This story reeks of fake outrage. Common sense.
 
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