The world's largest online retailer drew scrutiny for having
apparel with QAnon insignia and related books up for sale days after QAnon
followers joined last week's siege of the U.S. Capitol, which left five people
dead.
QAnon backers have pushed conspiracies on social media based
on web postings from the anonymous "Q," citing insider knowledge of
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. These include the baseless claim
that Trump secretly is fighting a cabal of child-sex predators, among them
prominent Democrats and figures in Hollywood.
The action by Amazon follows a decision to stop hosting the
web content of Parler, a social network used by some supporters of Trump. The
company alleged that Parler had violated the terms of service of its cloud computing
division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), for failing to deal with an increase in
violent social media. Parler sued AWS on Monday in response.
Amazon previously has come under fire for - and removed the
listings of - products promoting extremist views, such as books denying the
Holocaust.