(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said Monday it was in the process of removing some QAnon products from its online marketplace, citing policies that prohibit objectionable items or other inappropriate content.
The largest online retailer in the world came under scrutiny for having QAnon-branded clothing and related books for sale days after QAnon followers joined last week’s siege on the Capitol, killing five people around it. life came.
Supporters of QAnon have pushed social media conspiracies based on web posts of the anonymous “Q”, citing inside information of US President Donald Trump’s administration. These include the baseless claim that Trump is secretly fighting a cabal of child sex predators, including prominent Democrats and Hollywood figures.
Amazon’s move follows a decision to stop hosting the web content of Parler, a social network used by some of Trump’s supporters. The company alleged that Parler violated the terms of service of its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), because it was unable to cope with an increase in violent social media. Parler sued AWS on Monday in response.
Amazon has previously come under fire for – and removed lists of products that promote extremist views, such as books that deny the Holocaust.
Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya, Elizabeth Culliford and Katie Paul; Edited by Christopher Cushing