Report Exposes Kids’ Products Promoting White Supremacy on Amazon

Consumers that want to buy products that show symbols for white supremacy, including necklaces with swastikas and infant wear that has a burning cross could visit Amazon.com for an array of choices.

In what appears to be a violation of rules that cover what is allowed to be sold by third parties on its site, dozens of different products relating to hate groups or views were discovered during a CBS search. The products included ones that children use like a meme and backpack.

The policy of the e-commerce giants contains prohibited listings on its site that include products promoting or glorifying hatred, violence, sexual, racial or religious intolerance or promote groups with the same views.

By Friday afternoon, much of the merchandise was gone, but some remained such as a necklace with a swastika and a “onesie” for an infant girl that has a burning cross on it. By late Friday evening both those products were no longer on the site.

On Friday, a report was released by the Partnership for Working Families and the Action Center on Race and the Economy stated that Amazon failed to follow its policy.

The reported added that Amazon enables individuals or groups trafficking hate by allowing them to sell hate imagery and symbols on their site.

The report said a book sold on Amazon was a children’s fable written by George Lincoln Rockwell, who founded the American Nazi Party. The book had a five-star review on Amazon.

A spokesperson for Amazon did not explain how the policy of the company related to this is enforced. The spokesperson did say that third-party sellers that use the Amazon marketplace must follow company guidelines and those that do not will be subject to action that includes potential removal of an account.

Amazon is not the only retailing site where shoppers can find objectionable merchandise. Products that display confederate flags are available on Walmart’s online site and on eBay frog bibs that are advertised as “alt-right” gifts for a baby shower can be purchased.

The reports on products found on Amazon drew opposing views across social media as one user on Twitter questioned how newsworthy it was by saying the site sells everything.

This is not the first controversy of its kind for Amazon, as last May products were pulled off the site that made light of mental illnesses after they were found by a media outlet in Britain.