In September, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Amazon about the role of its algorithm in promoting vaccine misinformation, specifically The Truth About COVID-19 by Dr. Joseph Mercola and Ronnie Cummins. That’s because the book, published by Chelsea Green, sits at or near the top of Amazon search results for terms like COVID-19.
Warren accused the book of perpetuating false and misleading information about vaccines; it also promotes supplements sold on Mercola’s website for preventing COVID-19 infection. Warren’s letter asked for an immediate review of Amazon’s algorithms and modification of these algorithms if they were found to be directing consumers to books containing COVID-19 misinformation. (Meanwhile, social media sites have also been asked to limit Mercola’s reach, and The New York Times called him “the most influential spreader of coronavirus misinformation online.”)
Chelsea Green along with the book’s authors have filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Warren violated the First Amendment by writing her letter to Amazon. The filing cites a 1963 case, Bantam Books vs. Sullivan; the Supreme Court held that state officials violated the First Amendment by sending letters to booksellers warning that the sale of certain named books was potentially unlawful.
Aside from being a number-one bestselling book on Amazon, The Truth About COVID-19, published in April 2021, has made multiple national bestseller lists and now has nearly 4,000 reviews with an average 5-star rating. There is no way to know for sure if Amazon has suppressed or demoted the title (and they haven’t said either way). However, according to Chelsea Green, Amazon’s algorithm is not recommending the book to readers whose past purchases would suggest interest in the title. Further, the publisher complains that Amazon is not categorizing the book as a medical work. (When we last checked, the book was ranking number one in Political Freedom, among other political categories, and number four in Vaccines.) Amazon also notified Chelsea Green that it was refusing ads for the book. Learn more.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
