Jim Jordan: Biden Administration Pressured Amazon to Censor ‘Children’s Books, Books for Parents, Books Critical of Big Pharma’

President Joe Biden delivers remarks announcing CHIPS and Science Act grants to Intel to e
White House Photo / Adam Schultz
Alana Mastrangelo

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) announced on Friday as part of his “Amazon Files” release that the Biden administration pressured Amazon to censor “children’s books, books for parents, and books critical of big pharma.”

“We knew that @Amazon censored books because of pressure from the Biden @WhiteHouse. Now we know which books,” Rep. Jordan began in a Friday thread posted to X/Twitter.

The congressman added that the House Judiciary Republicans and Weaponization Committee “obtained internal Amazon documents showing that the urgent ‘impetus’ for Amazon censoring books in March 2021 was ‘criticism from the Biden administration.'”

To censor the books, Amazon created a “new [Do Not Promote] class for anti-vax books,” he said.

“Internal emails reveal that Amazon initially added 43 books to its newly created ‘Do Not Promote’ class of allegedly anti-vaccine books,” rep. Jordan continued. “These pro-censorship changes were being made ‘due to criticism from the Biden people.'”

In response to a subpoena from the House Judiciary Republicans, “Amazon revealed the 43 book titles it censored because of the Biden White House’s pressure,” the congressman added.

“Whether you love or hate the books on this list, no bookstore should be censoring books because of government pressure,” Rep. Jordan said. “The Biden White House’s pressure led Amazon to censor CHILDREN’S BOOKS. That’s right. Picture books. For children.”

Rep. Jordan went on to say that before the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, “a children’s book author dared to draft a book for unvaccinated children facing discrimination, ‘especially in California or New York.'”

“The author said the book ‘promotes love, understanding, and kindness to everyone.’ Biden and Amazon preach ‘tolerance.’ Right?” the congressman added.

Rep. Jordan noted that “The children’s book said the vaccinated & unvaccinated can be friends.”

“Instead of censoring it, Amazon should have sent the book to Fauci, @GavinNewsom, and @JoeBiden,” he added. “Remember when they said everyone had to comply with their made-up rules and vax mandates or lose their jobs?”

“Top-selling books for parents also were targeted,” Rep. Jordan said in a follow-up post. “There is nothing the Biden Admin and the elites hate more than parents making their own decisions about their children’s education, health, and values.”

The congressman added that “if these efforts weren’t enough to effectively deamplify opposing viewpoints, Amazon also censored books reviewing scientific papers.”

“The book also had the audacity to address whether Big Pharma’s funding of research has the potential to create conflicts of interest,” Rep. Jordan said.

“Under the guise of combatting ‘anti-vaccine’ misinformation, Amazon censored everything from picture books for children to books criticizing Big Pharma,” he added in another X post.

“These 43 books are only the tip of the iceberg,” Rep. Jordan asserted. “Amazon, YouTube, and Facebook each caved to the Biden White House’s censorship campaign.”

The congressman went on to tell readers not to let the Biden administration “tell you that their censorship campaign was about concerns of misinformation going viral on social media.”

“They were going after BOOKS too,” he said. “This is — and always has been — about suppressing disfavored views, not purported challenges of new technologies.”

“This is unconstitutional government censorship, full stop,” Rep. Jordan declared. “Whether you agree with this speech or not, free speech is free speech and the Biden Admin pressured private companies to censor constitutionally protected speech.”

Rep. Jordan concluded his X thread by saying that the House Judiciary Republicans and Weaponization Committee “will continue this critical investigative work to further inform legislative solutions to dismantle the Biden Administration’s censorship regime.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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