You’re scrolling through Amazon looking for a new blender or maybe a pair of running shoes. You see thousands of reviews. Most look fine, but some feel... off. It’s a feeling we’ve all had. But over the last few years, the conversation has shifted from "annoying fake reviews" to something much heavier: the idea of an Amazon Chinese propaganda arm.
It sounds like a spy novel plot. It isn't.
The reality is a messy mix of corporate profit-chasing, geopolitical maneuvering, and the weird way the world’s biggest storefront handles authoritarian demands. When reports surfaced about Amazon working directly with China’s propaganda apparatus to scrub negative ratings on books by Xi Jinping, it wasn't just a glitch in the system. It was a choice. A massive, trillion-dollar choice.
The 2021 Bombshell: How It All Started
In late 2021, a Reuters investigation blew the doors off a secret project known internally at Amazon as "China Books."
The core of the scandal? Amazon had reportedly agreed to a demand from Beijing. If they wanted to keep doing business in China, they had to disable the rating and comment sections on a collection of books written by President Xi Jinping.
Imagine that for a second. The entire value proposition of Amazon—the "customer-centric" model built on transparent reviews—was turned off because a government didn't want to see a one-star rating. This is the bedrock of what critics call the Amazon Chinese propaganda arm. It wasn't just about selling books; it was about providing a platform for state-sanctioned narratives without the "nuisance" of public dissent.
Amazon didn't just stop at disabling comments. They partnered with China's state-owned propaganda entity, the China International Book Trading Corp (CIBTC), to create a specific portal. This wasn't a back-alley deal. It was a structured, high-level collaboration.
Why China? The Trillion-Dollar Hook
Money talks. Usually, it screams.
Amazon’s relationship with China is complicated. On one hand, they struggled to compete with local giants like Alibaba and JD.com in the domestic e-commerce space. They eventually shut down their domestic marketplace in China in 2019. But that’s not the whole story.
China is the heartbeat of Amazon’s global supply chain.
Walk through an Amazon warehouse. Look at the labels. A massive percentage of the third-party sellers on the platform are based in China. Without Chinese manufacturing and the aggressive expansion of Chinese sellers into US and European markets, Amazon’s "Everything Store" would look a lot more like a "Some Things Store."
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Jay Carney, the former White House press secretary who became a top Amazon executive, was a key figure in navigating these waters. Internal documents showed the company recognized that "ideological control and propaganda is the core of the toolkit for the communist party to achieve and maintain its standing."
They knew. They did it anyway.
The Mechanics of Influence
How does a Chinese propaganda arm actually function on a retail site? It’s subtle.
It starts with "Project China." This was the internal name for the effort to grow Amazon's footprint in the country. To win favor, Amazon reportedly helped promote books like The Governance of China.
But it goes deeper than just one book.
- Algorithmic Favoritism: Critics argue that by partnering with state entities, Amazon’s algorithms naturally began to favor state-linked media and publications in search results related to Chinese politics.
- Selective Enforcement: There have been long-standing complaints that Amazon is quicker to ban small independent sellers for minor infractions than it is to crack down on massive, state-aligned conglomerates that might be flooding the site with low-quality or "pro-narrative" products.
- The Review Game: While Amazon fights "review farms," the line gets blurry when those farms are operating with the quiet nod of a local government.
The Human Rights Blind Spot
We have to talk about Xinjiang.
In 2022, a report from the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and various human rights groups highlighted a disturbing trend: Amazon was still hosting products from companies linked to forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
This is where the "propaganda" part gets physical. By providing a global marketplace for goods produced under questionable conditions, and by staying silent on the political context of those goods to stay in Beijing's good graces, Amazon effectively acts as a PR buffer.
It’s a trade-off. Market access for moral silence.
Is it propaganda? If you define propaganda as the systematic spreading of information to promote a particular political cause or point of view—and if Amazon’s platform is being curated to exclude negative views of that cause—then yes. The shoe fits.
It’s Not Just Books
The influence of the Amazon Chinese propaganda arm extends to the hardware.
Think about Kindle. For years, Amazon fought to get Kindle into the Chinese market. To do that, they had to comply with rigorous censorship laws. Every Kindle sold in China was a device that, by design, could not access "subversive" material.
When you build a device that is hard-coded to ignore certain truths, you aren't just a tech company anymore. You're an enforcer.
Amazon eventually announced it would pull the Kindle bookstore out of China in 2023. Some saw this as a stand for values. Others saw it as a simple business calculation: they were losing money, and the censorship headaches were no longer worth the dwindling profit margins.
The Pushback: Regulation and Public Perception
Congress has noticed.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly grilled tech CEOs about their ties to Beijing. Amazon often tries to fly under the radar by framing themselves as a "logistics company" or a "retailer" rather than a "social media platform."
But they are a platform.
They host information. They rank ideas. They influence what millions of people see first when they search for "China history" or "Modern Chinese politics."
The "soft power" China exerts through Amazon is arguably more effective than a state-run TV channel. People expect propaganda from China Daily. They don't expect it from their "Recommended for You" list on a rainy Tuesday.
What You Should Watch Out For
Honestly, it’s hard to untangle this as a consumer. You’ve got bills to pay and you just need a cheap USB cable. I get it.
But if you want to see the Amazon Chinese propaganda arm in action, look at the "official" accounts. Look at the "Great Wall" collection of books or movies. Notice the lack of critical reviews on certain state-published materials.
It’s the silence that tells the story.
When a product has 10,000 five-star reviews and not a single critical voice regarding its political implications, that’s a red flag. Real people are messy. Real people complain. Total consensus is usually manufactured.
Actionable Steps for the Conscious Shopper
You don't have to quit Amazon tomorrow. That's unrealistic for most people. But you can change how you interact with the machine.
1. Vet Your Sellers
Check the "Sold by" and "Ships from" info. If it’s a brand name you’ve never heard of that looks like a random string of consonants (e.g., "XJDKL-Direct"), it’s often a shell for a larger manufacturing group. Use tools like Fakespot to see if the review patterns are organic.
2. Diversify Your Information
Never, ever use Amazon as a primary search engine for political or historical books. Their "Best Seller" lists in those categories can be easily gamed by bulk purchases from state-aligned groups. Use sites like Bookshop.org or your local library's catalog to see what the actual literary consensus is.
3. Support Independent Journalism
The only reason we know about the Amazon Chinese propaganda arm is because of high-level investigative journalism. Support outlets that do the boring, expensive work of sifting through internal corporate memos.
4. Contact Your Reps
If the idea of a US company disabling reviews for a foreign leader bothers you, let your representatives know. The "Platform Accountability and Transparency Act" is a recurring topic in DC. It needs public pressure to move.
5. Look for Transparency Reports
Amazon publishes "Transparency Reports," but they are notoriously thin on details regarding foreign government requests for content removal. Demand more specific data on how many "requests for censorship" they receive from the CCP.
The relationship between Amazon and China isn't going away. It's too profitable. But by understanding that the marketplace isn't a neutral ground, you can at least shop with your eyes open. The "Everything Store" comes with a lot of baggage. Some of it is packed by the state.
Key Takeaway: The influence of the Amazon Chinese propaganda arm isn't always about what's being said; it's about what Amazon allows to be deleted. In the digital age, the power to erase a one-star review is the power to rewrite a narrative. Pay attention to the gaps in the conversation.