Amazon has continued to face a backlash of abuse on social media after a number of listings featuring wildly offensive racist language appeared on the site.
The ecommerce giant has been accused of “extraordinarily poor site administration” after allowing posts featuring the racist abuse to remain on site for hours, and failing to respond to angry Twitter users demanding an explanation.
Can you explain the racist content you are selling, endorsing and profiting from… I'm waiting please#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatterUK #BLMLDN pic.twitter.com/pgoyEZ5VNY
— † 🇧🇧🇲🇹 Baldwin Hills 🇲🇹🇧🇧 ✝️ (@Ms_BaldwinHills) May 31, 2020
Amazon said yesterday that it had removed the “images in question and took action against the bad actor”, who is believed to have hacked the website changing the images of numerous listing for bluetooth headphones.
However, many Twitter users have accused Amazon of “hypocrisy” for Tweeting support for #BlackLivesMatter yet continuing to allow many racist books to be sold.
Hey @amazon while you are doing a tidy up of the site, can you stop selling racist books. #BlackLivesMatter
— Jennifer Jackson (@JenoirRenoir) May 31, 2020
The hypocrisy of @amazon must stop. Dont be supporting #BLACK_LIVES_MATTER but still selling racist books ! Pls sign and share @Beverleyknight @MedVolNet @musicprinceton @No1Cathedral @HACOCharity @Reggaebytheriv1 https://t.co/2d5vGE0tt7
— Chinara Events (@ChinaraEvents) May 31, 2020
Case and point- 1 “it was REMOVED”
2- “it didn’t fall outside our posted guidelines”So wtf??? Yet you didn’t remove this dumb racist message that CLEARLY SHOULD fall outside of your guidelines! Or is racism ALLOWED in those @amazon “guidelines”??? pic.twitter.com/PXMJlVDUTJ
— RACISM IN UK: TUNE IN TO INSTA LIVE TODAY (@feelinghendrix) May 31, 2020
This is not the first time Amazon has been criticised for failing the listings it allows on its platform.
Last March, a report by Wired found numerous books including Healing the Symptoms Known as Autism being sold on the site, which suggests using chlorine dioxide to treat the condition.
Many similar books remained available for purchase on Amazon for some time, including Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children and How to End the Autism Epidemic: Revealing the Truth About Vaccines, even after it began to remove them.
READ MORE: Amazon removes racist messages appearing in UK listings
Its also not the first time Amazon has inadvertently been embroiled in political unrest and rioting across the globe.
Last August it came under fire in China for selling t-shirts with slogans in support of the ongoing anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
Chinese social media users said they wanted to “teach this company a lesson” after news that Amazon was selling the t-shirts exploded in the press, sending the hashtag “Amazon t-shirts” trending.
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