Amazon 'deletes 900 reviews' of Hillary Clinton's new memoir

Hillary Clinton greets the audience as she takes the stage to sign copies of her new book.
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Francesca Gillett14 September 2017

Internet giant Amazon has allegedly removed more than 900 reviews of Hillary Clinton’s new memoir amid concerns politically-motivated reviewers were falsely claiming to have read the book.

"What Happened", Mrs Clinton’s new memoir, tells her story of last year's presidential election campaign. It contains repeated attacks on Donald Trump, who she calls a “clear and present danger to the country and the world”.

Within a day of going on sale on Tuesday, 1,600 people had posted reviews of the book on website Amazon – although many did not discuss the book but made sweeping political comments about Mrs Clinton.

But by late morning on Thursday, UK time, there were 577 reviews on the website.

Some of the unimpressed customer reviews deeply criticise the book for being "so full of vitriol", "a slog of a read" and "the story of someone making excuses".

Other more satisfied readers called it an "interesting insight into the election" and "a must read for anyone who cares about our democracy".

A spokeswoman for Amazon told the Standard they do have mechanisms in place to “ensure the voices of many do not drown out the voices of a few and we remove customer reviews that violate our community guidelines”.

What Happened: Hillary Clinton's memoir was published on Tuesday.
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Jonathan Karp, the President and Publisher of Simon and Schuster which printed the book, said he believed many of the reviewers posted on the website had not actually read the book, the Telegraph reported.

Indeed many of the Amazon reviews were not users with a “verified purchase” accreditation – meaning they had not bought the memoir via Amazon.

Mr Karp said: “It seems highly unlikely that approximately 1,500 people read Hillary Clinton’s book overnight and came to the stark conclusion that it is either brilliant or awful.”

Amazon said they do have mechanisms in place that allow them to remove reviews.
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According to the Telegraph, before the number of reviews dropped there was an even split between fans and critics of the book.

On Thursday morning UK time, 95 per cent of customer reviews rated the book five stars.

The company’s statement added: “Amazon Customer Reviews must be reviews related to the product and are designed to help customers make purchase decisions.

“In the case of a memoir, the subject of the book is the author and their views. It’s not our role to decide what a customer would view as helpful or unhelpful in making their decision.

“We do however have mechanisms in place to ensure that the voices of many do not drown out the voices of a few and we remove customer reviews that violate our Community Guidelines.

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