Read banned books — except the ones Biden tells Amazon to censor

Book banning went wild in 2023, or so the mainstream media and its liberal allies cried.

Book after book could no longer be found in school libraries nationwide, many titles due to LGBTQ+ themes, purportedly. And it was all the right’s fault.

The truth? Some of the books being “banned” featured sexualized material inappropriate for school-age children. A select few, like the infamous “Gender Queer” text, included graphic sexual depictions so shocking that they couldn’t be read aloud at school meetings.

A chilling new report suggested that the Biden administration leaned on Amazon to allegedly censor books that questioned elements of its vaccine protocols. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) shared internal Amazon emails revealing that Team Biden pressured Amazon in 2021 to target books tied to the vaccines.

A hyped pseudo-'ban' ...

Hollywood celebrities, presumably staunch supporters of free speech, railed against the “bans.” The group included Chelsea Handler, John Leguizamo, Mark Ruffalo, Constance Wu, and Sarah Paulson.

The Daily Signal’s exhaustive 2023 reporting on the matter found plenty of heat … and few fires.

It is simply false that 2,532 books were removed from schools during the 2021-2022 school year. We know this is false because we examined online card catalogues and found that 74% of the books PEN America identified as banned from school libraries are actually listed as available in the catalogues of those school districts.

Are some of the groups in question arguing in good faith, even if their facts didn’t hold up to scrutiny? We recently received a perfect test case.

... and an underreported real one

A chilling new report suggested that the Biden administration leaned on Amazon to allegedly censor books that questioned elements of its vaccine protocols. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) shared internal Amazon emails revealing that Team Biden pressured Amazon in 2021 to target books tied to the vaccines.

Why? To stop “misinformation.” We now know much of what was once dubbed “misinformation” about the vaccines turned out to be true.

Align reached out to several organizations to glean their reactions to a book ban with ominous, real-world threats. This isn’t a school district voting to keep a problematic book away from school-age children. This is the world’s largest bookseller, by its own admission, feeling the heat from the U.S. government.

Surely the groups in question, as well as Hollywood stars, would be outraged by the Biden administration’s actions or, at the very least, seek out more information on the subject. This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s about freedom of speech, censorship, and the all-American right to share ideas without governmental punishment.

The 'wrong' kind of censorship?

Yet a Google News search of “PEN America Biden Amazon” revealed no new stories in recent weeks tied to Jordan’s revelations. That group has been on the forefront of the book-banning issue.

Align reached out to the group’s media relations arm to ask if the group had any reaction to the troubling Biden-Amazon connection. The organization didn’t respond to the request.

Align also reached out to the Authors Guild, a group whose motto reads, “Supporting working writers and protecting authors’ rights since 1912.” Any reaction or comment?

No response. Again.

Sheila Nevins recently co-directed "The ABCs of Book Banning," a documentary short on the subject. Align asked a publicist working on Nevins’ film for a comment from her on the matter. No response.

Align reached out to a representative of “Reading Rainbow” star LeVar Burton for comment or reaction.

The “Star Trek: The Next Generation” alum has been vocal on book banning in recent months. He served as the honorary chair of Banned Books Week in October and shared his views on the subject with Esquire magazine.

“I've put in work in this field; I've put in time on these issues,” Burton told Esquire. “I'm happy to be the face of it and represent it, because these are matters that I care deeply about.”

The actor also told MSNBC’s audience how everyday Americans can fight back against the “conservative” book bans.

"You can buy banned books. There are myriad ways in which you can participate and be counted. Stand up and be counted. The most important thing is — resist."

No response. Nor has he tweeted about the subject from his official X social media account.

Most mainstream media outlets have covered the so-called book-banning movement extensively. A quick Google News search on “Amazon Biden book” reveals right-leaning news outlets covered the Jordan revelations.

The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and other mainstream sources ignored the matter.