Fast company logo
|
advertisement

NEWS

Amazon Prime Video is helping spread misinformation through conspiracy videos

Critics of such conspiracy videos argue that by appearing on paid-for services such as Netflix and Prime Video the services are lending the videos a sense of accuracy and authenticity as they are available side-by-side with respected, fact-driven documentaries.

Amazon Prime Video is helping spread misinformation through conspiracy videos

[Photo: Alejandro Escamilla/Unsplash]

BY Michael Grothaus1 minute read

The Telegraph has an interesting report that highlights a growing problem for video streaming providers: the increasing amount of conspiracy videos peddling often-debunked narratives on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The report specifically focuses on Prime Video and notes how paying subscribers get access to conspiracy videos by the likes of Alex Jones and David Icke. Jones is notorious for saying the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was a false flag operation to help impose gun control in the U.S.–and the half-dozen videos Amazon Prime hosts of his include ideas like the Obama administration was backed by the New World Order to “attempt to con the American people into accepting global slavery.”

Other videos offered on Prime Video include anti-vaccine conspiracy videos. Critics of such conspiracy videos argue that by appearing on paid-for services such as Netflix and Prime Video the services are lending the videos a sense of accuracy and authenticity as they are available alongside respected, fact-driven documentaries. That’s opposed to the conspiracy videos appearing on a place like YouTube, where viewers know anyone can upload almost anything they want. Of course, if Amazon and Netflix yank the videos from their service, conspiracy peddlers could say that is just another part of the conspiracy to suppress the information their bogus videos are peddling.

advertisement

Recognize your company's culture of innovation by applying to this year's Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards before the final deadline, April 5.

CoDesign Newsletter logo
The latest innovations in design brought to you every weekday.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Privacy Policy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Grothaus is a novelist and author. He has written for Fast Company since 2013, where he's interviewed some of the tech industry’s most prominent leaders and writes about everything from Apple and artificial intelligence to the effects of technology on individuals and society. Michael’s current tech-focused areas of interest include AI, quantum computing, and the ways tech can improve the quality of life for the elderly and individuals with disabilities More


Explore Topics