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Headline Roundup February 26th, 2021

Perspectives: Amazon Removes Book About Transgender Issues

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Amazon is under scrutiny for removing a book about transgender issues from its platforms. The book, "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment," was published in 2018 and has at times spurred controversy for purportedly pushing transphobia. According to coverage from all sides of the spectrum, Amazon has declined multiple media requests to explain the removal as of Friday afternoon. Four Republican Senators sent the company a letter asking for an explanation and information about its content moderation policies. The story was highlighted by right-rated outlets, which framed the story as a glaring example of anti-conservative bias and unjust censorship by a powerful tech company. Several center-rated outlets covered the story, and only one left-rated outlet covered the story: the Britain-based Independent (Lean Left bias), which described the book as "attacking transgender people." Some coverage from right-rated sources focused on the fact that the book was once listed as a bestseller on Amazon and by the Washington Post. Fox News (Lean Right bias) analyzed the fact that the Post had not yet reported on the news; Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also owns the Post.

Featured Coverage of this Story

From the Left
Conservatives outraged that anti-trans book removed from Amazon
Conservatives outraged that anti-trans book removed from Amazon

The Independent

Analysis

Amazon appears to have halted the sale of a book accused of attacking transgender people, outraging some prominent conservatives.

Ryan T Anderson, a former fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said on Sunday that the online retail giant had removed his 2018 bookWhen Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment from its store.

“Given the aggressive push on trans policies coming from the Biden admin, now is a great time to read it,” he said in a tweet on Sunday. “Buy it before you no longer can.”

Amazon declined...

Open on The Independent
From the Center
Amazon Faces Questions Over Removal of Book by Conservative Author
Amazon Faces Questions Over Removal of Book by Conservative Author

Wall Street Journal (News)

News

A group of Republican senators is asking Amazon.com Inc. AMZN 1.17% to explain why it recently removed a book about transgender issues that had been on sale on the platform for about three years.

In a letter to Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos dated Wednesday, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri said a book by conservative scholar Ryan T. Anderson, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment,” was no longer available on Amazon nor on its...

Open on Wall Street Journal (News)
Possible Paywall
From the Right
Amazon Kneels before the Mob
Amazon Kneels before the Mob

National Review (News)

Opinion

Most critics of Amazon and other world-bestriding technology companies focus on their size and market share, but another problem is their opacity: We still do not know, and may indeed never know, why Amazon has decided to ban Ryan Anderson’s book on the transgender controversy. Inquiries from National Review and from Anderson’s publisher, Encounter Books, have been met with Bourbon haughtiness: Le marché, c’est moi, says Jeff Bezos.

The book, published in 2018, recently has been removed from Amazon, as well as from Amazon subsidiaries Kindle, Audible, and AbeBooks. Amazon...

Open on National Review (News)
Possible Paywall

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