ONLINE RETAILER AMAZON, which had claimed it would be censorship to stop selling a how-to-guide for paedophiles, has had no such troubles pulling a how-to guide for authors who want to manipulate their ranking on Amazon.
The ebook “The Day the Kindle Died” advises ways to manipulate Amazon’s bestseller rankings, including downloading copies of the Kindle edition yourself and posting your own reviews.
The Guardian reports that the book’s author, Thoms Hertog, has accused Amazon of hypocrisy for its treatment of his book which he says was temporarily removed from the site over the New Year.
The book has been relisted, but without reviews and its sales ranking.
Hertog claims that he was able to push his first book above larger-selling tomes by posting fake reviews and said that no vote or review was rejected by Amazon. Last April, the Guardian reported that historian Orlando Figes admitted he had posted anonymous reviews on Amazon which praised his own work and trashed that of his rivals.
In November, Amazon had refused to remove “The Paedophile’s Guide to Love & Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct” from its site.
Amazon told TheJournal.ie that it would remain on the site as it did not breach the site’s terms of service and the company “believes it is censorship not to see certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable”. Following public anger, Amazon subsequently removed the publication from its listings.
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