The Patriot Post® · Big Tech Censors Remove Book Questioning 'Transgender' Dogma
A quick search on Amazon’s website for the popular 2018 book by Ryan T. Anderson, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, will turn up no such title. Instead, one will be presented with the horribly unscientific rebuttal book Let Harry Become Sally: Responding to the Anti-Transgender Moment. This was not the case before last Sunday, when Anderson’s book was trending on Amazon as a bestseller on “transgender” issues. Then suddenly and without any explanation, Anderson’s book was memory-holed, as if it had never been available on Amazon in the first place. It’s yet another instance of Big Tech censorship.
When the abusive censorship practices of Big Tech are repeatedly exposed, the response often raised is dismissive: Why does this matter, since there are other book stores? Well, as The Washington Free Beacon reports, “The removal of Anderson’s book also calls attention to Amazon’s oversized impact on book sales. In a 2019 letter to the House Antitrust Subcommittee, three major publishing associations wrote that Amazon controls 50 percent or more of the print book market, although some estimates put the number closer to 80 percent. Analyst Ben Evans estimates Amazon controls over 75 percent of the e-book market.”
If Amazon didn’t control huge swaths of the book market, then “the other stores” dismissal might be merited. However, with Amazon fast gaining near monopolistic control of the market, increasing censorship concerns are not merely cries over spilt milk. Making matters worse is the fact that many Democrats have jumped aboard the censorship train, demanding that Big Tech move faster and harder in efforts to squelch conservative views.
As the Wall Street Journal editorial board observes, “Corporate media censorship, such as Amazon’s scrubbing of a heretical book, is accelerating. And government is right alongside, pushing for censorship with increasing force.”
What’s especially striking about this latest incident of Big Tech censorship is that it came with absolutely no warning or explanation. Anderson said that he was only alerted to Amazon’s removal of his book after someone who sought to buy it contacted him and told him it was unavailable on the platform. It’s clear that since his book challenges the Left’s “transgender” dogma, Anderson has essentially been deemed a “heretic.” Therefore, his work must be expunged lest it gives the American public license to question the dubious claims of the Rainbow Mafia’s heterophobic gender deniers.
Oh, and a hat tip once again to The Babylon Bee for this headline: “Amazon Introduces ‘Kindle Bonfire’ Feature That Lets You Burn Digital Books.”
Update 2/24: Evidently, Amazon created a new “hate speech” guideline before using it to dump Anderson’s book. But, The Washington Free Beacon notes, “Adolf Hitler’s tract Mein Kampf can currently be ordered on Prime for single-day shipping.” Well, Hitler was a book-burning man of the Left himself, so he’s fine.
And Anderson writes, “Amazon never informed me or my publisher that it was removing my book. And Amazon’s representatives haven’t responded to our inquiries about it.”