I knew that this day would probably come—many others have suffered from censorship—but somehow I hoped it wouldn’t. After all, COVID-19 and the Agendas to Come, Red-Pilled had sold over 3,500 copies for Amazon since publication on August 20.
I had not originally planned to produce a Kindle e-book version of the book. But demand was strong, and people overseas were having trouble getting the paperback due to COVID mail restrictions, so last week I spent four days working very hard with an e-book conversion company. We were just giving it the finishing touches on the evening of October 15, when I got the first unsigned email from Amazon. The message was vague, but indicated that Amazon was temporarily suspending my book over alleged confusion about whether or not I had the right to publish it in certain overseas territories.
This was false. I had already informed Amazon that I had full worldwide rights when I first published the book. Screenshot:
Nevertheless, I began following Amazon’s instructions—to resubmit the book while confirming territorial rights.
However, about two hours later, Amazon sent me a second unsigned email. This one indicated that Amazon was completely removing the book from sale—suddenly, it was no longer about rights; now it was about violating “content guidelines.” Screenshot:
I asked Amazon to specify what content guidelines I had violated. Their answer wasn’t enlightening:
We’ve reviewed your book “COVID-19 and the Agendas to Come, Red-Pilled”, and found that it is in violation of our content guidelines and we will not be offering this title for sale on Amazon. We reserve the right to determine whether content provides a poor customer experience and remove that content from sale.
One oddity was that none of the emails were signed. I have five other books on Amazon, and in my past communication experiences, they would usually at least give a first name. But this time I was dealing with persons—or perhaps one person—who was cowering behind anonymity.
I’d like to say some things about the book itself. Two days after publication it ranked as high as #254 of all books on Amazon, and over the course of the last two months, it was often ranked as Amazon’s #1 best-seller in the category of “respiratory diseases.” Screenshot:
Along with over 3,500 Amazon sales, the book had received 50 customer ratings, 92% 5-star, 8% 4-star. No one gave it 1, 2 or 3 stars. So how can Amazon call it a “poor customer experience”? Aren’t their customers supposed to determine that?
I also want to say something about the book’s accuracy. It was written with scrupulous documentation. It has nearly 300 end-notes, and quotes scholars from around the world—virologists, epidemiologists, immunologists, pathologists, microbiologists, infectious disease specialists, including Nobel Prize winners, as well as front-line ER physicians and family practice MDs. There is virtually nothing I say in the book that isn’t documented.
Amazon, by the way, continues to carry other anti-lockdown books—I know of at least five. Why I was singled out is unclear. Amazon initially banned Alex Berenson’s Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns, then reversed its decision after protests were voiced, notably by Elon Musk. Amazon also banned Julio Gonzalez’s book Coronalessons, but reversed itself after intervention by Senator Marco Rubio, an associate of Gonzalez. Unfortunately, I am not a friend of Elon Musk or any U.S. senators. However, the First Amendment was not intended to apply only to the rich and the powerful.
So how am I responding to the censorship? I have contacted a law firm that specializes in First Amendment cases. I don’t know if they will take my case or not, but we’ve seen some success against the lockdowns through the courts—as in Pennsylvania and Michigan recently—and as corrupt as our legal system has become, I think this is still one of the best avenues available. I am also going to bring the facts of my case to the attention of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, which has recently had Amazon under scrutiny. Some of you may also wish to express your sentiments to Amazon; there can be strength in numbers. But I think it would be best if this came from people who have already read the book and therefore can speak with conviction about it.
Duly noted: Jeff Bezos has made billions from the lockdown. It is clear that Bezos—and Amazon itself—profit from the COVID restrictions on brick-and-mortar retail stores. Therefore, by censoring anti-lockdown books, they have a glaring conflict of interest. If you want to see the book restored, let Amazon know. You can email Jeff Bezos at jeff@amazon.com.
By the way, since I knew this day of censorship might come, I had a backup printing of my book made, totally separate from Amazon. Individual paperback orders can be placed at Power of Prophecy https://www.texemarrs.com/; best to call them during normal business hours, weekdays 8-5 Central Time, 800-234-9673. The book is also now stocked by American Free Press 1-888-699-6397 or at this sales link. As Amazon had been the distributor, their ban temporarily cut the book off from mainstream bookstores, but I have now contracted with a distributor who has gotten it back in bookstores, including Barnes & Noble, Booksamillion, Powell’s Books, and other retailers. For people in the continental U.S. who would like the book in bulk for broad distribution to friends, family and public officials, I offer it myself in bulk quantities (at discount rates). INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS, please note that the paperback is now listed by the UK-based Book Depository, which offers free shipping internationally. Canadians may buy the book directly from Indigo at this link.
ALSO, SINCE AMAZON’S CENSORSHIP HAS MADE A KINDLE E-BOOK IMPOSSIBLE, I AM MAKING FREE PDF, MOBI AND EPUB VERSIONS OF THE BOOK AVAILABLE. Click here for details.
October 18 update: Please pardon me if I am slow in responding to emails, as I now have quite a bit of ordering and communications traffic coming in.
November 13 update: Although I have never been a FaceBook user, people report that FaceBook Messenger is blocking messages that mention my website. If you wish to share this article on FaceBook, you could use this shortened URL:https://tinyurl.com/yxjfntgz.
One last thing I’ll say as a word of encouragement: censorship often backfires. If you say to people “Don’t read this book,” their instinct is to go and read it.