Amazon CEO Says Platform Will Not Pull Antisemitic Film Touted by Kyrie Irving

Amazon plans to keep a film on its platform that has been denounced as antisemitic, with CEO Andy Jassy saying the company needs to give customers access to various viewpoints, no matter how offensive they might be.

Because Amazon strives to serve hundreds of millions of customers with varying opinions, the company must allow access to those perspectives – even if they conflict with its values. Jassy said this during a Wednesday interview at the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit.

Jassy’s remarks about Hebrews were made in the film Wake Up Black America, which is available on Amazon. The Anti-Defamation League has said that the film promotes “longtime antisemitic tropes about Jewish power, control and greed.”

After Irving spoke about the film, ADL asked Amazon to take it down from their store, saying that by keeping it up, “Amazon is knowingly and willingly propagating antisemitism.”

Jassy, who is Jewish, said Amazon does take down inappropriate content, for example, media that incites violence or pedophilia.

Jassy said that Amazon has many customer reviews and added that for the platform’s popular books, “customers do a good job monitoring other people.”

In October, Irving got in trouble after sharing a link to Hebrews to Negros: Wake Up Black America on Amazon, which led to him being suspended from the Brooklyn Nets for eight games until he said sorry.

Both the film and book remain available on Amazon, despite protests from groups such as the ADL, The American Jewish Committee and other Jewish organizations. After encountering pressure, bookseller Barnes & Noble chose to stop selling the book.

Last year, the Anti-Defamation League found that hate crimes against Jewish people in America had increased by 34%. In response to this, Kanye West has come under fire recently for making antisemitic comments. This caused many major brands like Adidas and Balenciaga to end their relationship with him, dropping his billionaire status.

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