Senator Elizabeth Warren recently sent a letter to Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, asking for the e-commerce company to alter its algorithms in order to suppress books that allegedly spread “COVID-19 misinformation.”
Warren claimed that the COVID vaccines remain the “greatest tool to protect Americans from the virus,” yet “myths” regarding the vaccines continue to spread across various platforms, “often facilitated by technology companies that refuse to curb misinformation.”
The senator based her observation on a variety of searches that she conducted on the Amazon platform related to the vaccine and COVID-19, and she claimed that her staff determined the top results for “highly-ranked and favorably-tagged” books centered on “falsehoods” regarding cures and vaccines for the virus.
Warren also took issue with Alex Berenson, who previously worked for the New York Times as a reporter. Berenson appears frequently on Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, and he has shared insights and information that run contrary to mainstream opinions on the virus and vaccines. In the past month, Twitter banned Berenson for allegedly spreading virus misinformation.
However, Berenson informed Warren that his booklets do not have any misinformation, adding that his research has been sources from “scientific preprints,” “peer-reviewed papers,” and “government data.” Berenson also indicated that he provides hyperlinks for “relevant documents,” which provides readers with the opportunity to “judge for themselves.”
Berenson also noted that hundreds of thousands of copies of his booklets have been sold, receiving nearly perfect reviews.
However, Warren continues to press Amazon, asking for “an immediate review” of the company’s algorithms while simultaneously making two other demands to be fulfilled in the next two weeks. First, Warren wants “a public report on the extent to which Amazon’s algorithms [direct] consumers to … products containing COVID-19 misinformation,” and secondly, “a plan to modify these algorithms so that they no longer do so.”
Amazon has already replied to Warren, noting that “as a retailer,” the company respects the fact that its customers desire “access to a wide variety of viewpoints on the matter,” which is why the “books in question” continue to be sold on the website.
Amazon also added that it is strongly encouraging its employees to receive the vaccination, given the company’s belief in the fact that vaccinations comprise “an important step for communities to stay healthy and recover from the pandemic.”
Over her six-page letter, Warren also ranted about Ivermectin, which she proclaims is used for treating “parasites in livestock,” though the drug is also approved to treat parasites in humans. Furthermore, according to a study published in the American Journal of Therapeutics, “large reductions in COVID-19 deaths are possible using ivermectin.”
"Ivermectin is likely to be an equitable, acceptable, and feasible global intervention against COVID-19. Health professionals should strongly consider its use, in both treatment and prophylaxis."https://t.co/pLIE8sZ4Pr
— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) August 23, 2021
