Author and political commentator Scott Adams announced on Tuesday that Amazon had banned his new book “Reframe Your Brain” from its Kindle Direct Publishing platform. Adams, who is also the creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip, later informed his audience that the company had lifted the lifetime ban.
On Tuesday, Adams wrote a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter:
.@AmazonKDP (for independent publishers) banned me for life this week, so my book launch for Reframe Your Brain might be delayed.
Their stated reason is that I don’t own my own content, although they have documents proving I do. I get no response when I ask who they think owns it.
I can’t penetrate what I believe is their AI support system that is pretending to be human, to determine if it is a system issue or . . . something else. Will keep you updated.
.@AmazonKDP (for independent publishers) banned me for life this week, so my book launch for Reframe Your Brain might be delayed.
Their stated reason is that I don’t own my own content, although they have documents proving I do. I get no response when I ask who they think owns… pic.twitter.com/FCokGDITEj
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) August 15, 2023
On Wednesday, Adams gave an update, explaining that the ban was reversed “without explanation.”
Update: Lifetime ban on me reversed today without explanation. Stay tuned.
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) August 16, 2023
In the past, Amazon has banned books that question the government-approved narrative on the COVID pandemic. Author Kenneth P. Green responded to Adams’ post detailing his experience with being banned from the platform:
Welcome to Rejection by Amazon, Scott! They refused my book, “The Plague of Models” as well. Mine is out on GooglePlay books, Barnes and Noble, and other distributors. Amazon is earning its anti-trust prosecution, IMHO.
Welcome to Rejection by Amazon, Scott! They refused my book, “The Plague of Models” as well. Mine is out on GooglePlay books, Barnes and Noble, and other distributors. Amazon is earning its anti-trust prosecution, IMHO. pic.twitter.com/EZhjgsrsle
— Kenneth P. Green (@EnvirodocKG) August 15, 2023
The author further explained that his book criticized “the models that were used to set Covid policy” and are currently being “used to set climate policy.”
Criticizing the models that were used to set Covid policy, and are used to set climate policy are a significant part of the book. Amazon wouldn’t tell us the exact reasons for rejection, just threatened to ban my publisher entirely.
— Kenneth P. Green (@EnvirodocKG) August 15, 2023
In 2021, Amazon imposed a moratorium on books containing “hate speech.” The Biden administration in 2022 tried to pressure the online retail giant to ban the sale of books written by Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin. The company also started removing books that portray LGBTQ matters as a mental illness. Amazon appears to have quite a storied history when it comes to censoring content.
What is noteworthy about this situation is that Adams’ new book has nothing to do with politics, COVID, or LGBTQ-related matters. The book teaches readers how to improve their lives by reframing their thinking habits:
In Reframe Your Brain, cartoonist, author, and lifelong student of all forms of persuasion Scott Adams will present his best and most compelling reframes, showing you along the way how to expand on the examples in the book and reframe new situations on the fly.
So, what happened here?
Perhaps Amazon’s banning of Scott Adams was a simple mistake. It could have been an overzealous left-leaning employee who detests the author because he supported Trump.
It is also possible that the company planned to ban Adams from its platform, but then changed its mind because of the inevitable backlash that would follow. In this day and age, this is entirely possible, especially for someone like Scott Adams, who has become known for his outside-the-box and often controversial takes.
At this moment, even Adams is not aware of the reason why he was banned in the first place. If Amazon follows the lead of other Big Tech companies that have banned and then reinstated right-leaning individuals, it is likely that we will never know the true reason. Nevertheless, this episode reminds us of the immense power companies like Amazon have when it comes to shaping narratives through the content it allows us to consume.
