(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc. said Monday that it was working to remove some QAnon products from its online marketplace, citing policies that prohibit offensive or other inappropriate content.
The world’s largest online retailer pulled a checkout for getting QAnon insignia clothing and related books up for sale days after QAnon fans joined the Capitol siege U.S. last week, which left five dead.
QAnon supporters have pushed conspiracies on social media based on webpages from the anonymous “Q,” citing knowledge within U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. These include the unfounded allegation that Trump is secretly fighting a cabal of child sex predators, including prominent Democrats and figures in Hollywood.
The action by Amazon follows a decision to stop hosting Parler web content, a social network used by some Trump supporters. The company alleged that Parler had violated the terms of service of its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), for failing to address an increase in violent social media. Parler sued AWS on Monday in response.
Amazon has previously caught fire for – and removed the lists of – products encouraging outside ideas, such as books denying the Holocaust.
Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Additional recitation by Bhargav Acharya, Elizabeth Culliford and Katie Paul; Edited by Christopher Cushing