Conservative author and commentator Mark Dice is rejecting Amazon’s explanation for temporarily removing his bestselling book from its platform, arguing the company only reversed course after receiving media scrutiny and accusing much of conservative media of ignoring what he views as a clear case of political censorship.
Amazon restored Dice’s 2023 book, The War on Conservatives, after an inquiry from the Daily Caller. The company claimed that “this title was removed in error,” but has declined to elaborate on how that error occurred or why two separate appeals to restore the book had previously been denied.
Dice says he isn’t buying the explanation.
“Quite frankly, they’re full of s**t,” Dice told the Daily Caller after Amazon reinstated the title.
“If Amazon removed the book because of an ‘error,’ that error would have been remedied with my initial appeal,” he continued.
According to Dice, Amazon’s first appeal rejection claimed the book violated the company’s content policies, while a second rejection suggested the title “might result in a disappointing customer experience.”
Dice disputed both justifications, arguing the book was well received by readers, heavily sourced, and had already established itself as a commercial success.
Prior to its removal, The War on Conservatives had climbed to No. 4 on Amazon’s overall bestseller list while accumulating thousands of customer ratings and hundreds of written reviews. Dice said those reviews also disappeared during the removal before later being restored alongside the book.
The conservative commentator believes the sequence of events points to something more deliberate than a technical mistake.
“It’s clear that the book came to someone’s attention at Amazon, and they made a politically motivated decision to censor it because they personally opposed the book’s arguments and the author’s ideology,” Dice said.
He argued the company’s explanation only changed after reporters began asking questions.
“Once the Daily Caller reached out for comment, Amazon scrambled to avoid what they knew would be negative press about such an outrageous act of censorship and made up the bogus claim that it was all just an ‘error,’ hoping it would get swept under the rug,” he said.
Amazon has not publicly responded to Dice’s criticism or provided additional details about what caused the removal beyond its statement that the book had been taken down “in error.”
Beyond criticizing Amazon, Dice expressed frustration with what he described as an underwhelming response from conservative media organizations.
He said he personally contacted numerous conservative reporters, editors and media outlets after his book was removed, expecting the story to generate significant attention because it involved one of the country’s largest online retailers pulling a bestselling conservative title.
Instead, Dice said, most outlets showed little interest.
“With the exception of the Daily Caller virtually no conservative media outlets expressed any interest in the story or even responded to the press release,” he said.
Dice suggested his status as an independent creator may have contributed to the muted response.
Unlike many prominent conservative commentators affiliated with major media companies, Dice has built much of his audience independently through YouTube, self-publishing, and his own digital platforms.
“Despite having one of the largest independent platforms and subscriber bases in conservative media and reaching millions of people over the years, there seems to be little interest when censorship happens to someone outside their own corporate circle,” he said.
Dice argued that if conservative organizations are serious about opposing viewpoint discrimination by major technology companies, they should apply those principles consistently regardless of who is affected.
“Censorship of this scale, especially by big tech and social media companies that have a history of repressing conservative thought, should be called out,” he said.
“If conservative media is serious about fighting back against censorship,” Dice concluded, “that principle should apply regardless of whether the target works for a major network or is an independent creator.”
The controversy comes amid continued debate over the role large technology companies play in moderating content and whether ideological bias influences enforcement decisions. While Amazon maintains the removal of Dice’s book resulted from an error, the lack of additional explanation has left critics questioning how a bestselling title remained unavailable despite multiple unsuccessful appeals before ultimately being reinstated.
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