(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc. said Monday it was working to remove QAnon products from its online marketplace, citing policies banning offensive articles or other inappropriate content.
The world’s largest online retailer investigated because it had QAnon insignia and related books on sale days after QAnon followers joined last week’s siege of the US Capitol, which left five dead.
QAnon supporters have pushed conspiracies on social media based on web posts from anonymous “Q”, citing insider knowledge about the administration of US President Donald Trump. These include the baseless claim that Trump is secretly fighting a cabal of child sexual predators, including prominent Democrats and Hollywood figures.
Amazon’s action follows the decision to stop hosting Parler’s web content, a social network used by some Trump supporters. The company claimed that Parler violated the terms of supply of its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), because it failed to cope with an increase in violent social networks. Parler sued AWS Monday in response.
Amazon has previously been on fire for – and removed lists – for products that promote extremist views, such as books denying the Holocaust.
Report by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Additional reports by Bhargav Acharya, Elizabeth Culliford and Katie Paul; Edited by Christopher Cushing