Amazon.com Is Removing QAnon-Related Goods – Barron’s
Amazon.com said removing QAnon-related goods could take a few days.
Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images
Amazon.com is removing from its e-commerce site products sold by third parties that are related to QAnon, the far-right conspiracy theory claiming, among other things, that Satan-worshipping pedophiles are plotting against President Donald Trump.
Some people who participated in last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol were spotted wearing clothing with QAnon logos and symbols. Five people died and dozens were injured.
Amazon (ticker: AMZN) confirmed that it is in the process of removing several QAnon-related products, but said that the process could take a few days. A check on Tuesday morning found various QAnon-related stickers and flags still for sale. The retailer said that people or companies that attempt to list such products could lose their selling privileges.
Meanwhile, in response to a query from Barron’s, eBay (EBAY) said in a statement that it routinely removes hate-related products from the site. “At eBay, we have a strict policy against hate and discrimination to ensure our platform remains a safe, trusted and inclusive environment for our global community of buyers and sellers,” the company said. “Any merchandise glorifying violence or hate will be removed from our marketplace, this includes QAnon merchandise.”
A brief search on eBay found no such products.
While a Barron’s search found some QAnon-related T-shirts on the Etsy (ETSY) website, the company said in a statement that its seller polices “prohibit items that promote hate, incite violence, or promote or endorse harmful misinformation,” and that “in accordance with these policies, we are removing items related to QAnon from our marketplace.”
After Barron’s pointed out a few QAnon related items for sale on the site, the company removed them. “Our team has removed these items as they are not within our policies,” the company said.
A search Tuesday morning on Wish.com, operated by ContextLogic (WISH), finds a wide range of QAnon-related goods. Asked about the listings, a spokesman for the company said it also does not allow the sale of items that promote hate speech. “Wish prohibits the listing of products that glorify or endorse hatred towards others,” the spokesman said. “Wish deploys a number of measures to prevent these types of listings and removes them if prevention was unsuccessful. We encourage members of the public to report any offensive or inappropriate listings to report-abuse@.wish.com.”
Asked about the items Barron’s found on the site, the spokesman said the company is “in the process of pulling these items down.”
A search Tuesday found no QAnon-related merchandise on Walmart’s (WMT) Walmart.com.
Amazon’s move to remove QAnon-related merchandise follows the company’s recent decision to remove Parler from Amazon Web Services, effectively shutting down the right-wing-focused social-media site at least temporarily. Parler responded by filing suit against Amazon on antitrust grounds.
Amazon stock was up 0.7%, at $3,135.08, in recent trading, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1%.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com
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