Amazon’s algorithms promote extremist misinformation, report says

Previous research has shown Amazon’s search algorithms surface conspiracy theories in the results even when search terms are innocuous. A recent University of Washington study, for instance, found that 10.5% of Amazon.com results for the search term 'vaccine' were anti-vaccination books written by conspiracy theorists, including nearly all of the top results. — Sipa USA/TNS

Amazon.com’s search and recommendation algorithms channel customers into consuming increasingly extremist misinformation, according to a new report.

The report, by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, adds to a growing body of research on how digital platforms – including Facebook, YouTube and Amazon – can inadvertently inflame conspiracy theories. Previous reports have highlighted how algorithms surface misinformation in search results and news feeds.