Amazon’s search results for coronavirus-related materials are being dominated by plagiarized books authored by untraceable or pseudonymous writers, an NBC News investigation has found. The top-ranking “Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know About the Wuhan Corona Virus and How to Prevent It” by Richard J. Baily appeared above essential medical supplies and expert-authored guides before being removed Wednesday.
NBC News determined the book’s content was entirely stolen from various online sources. The opening chapters copied January NBC News reports by Erika Edwards and Sara Miller verbatim, while cleaning advice sections were lifted from a California-based housekeeping company’s website. Subsequent content came from ChinaLawBlog.com and The Guardian without attribution.
Amazon’s Ongoing Battle Against Fraudulent Content
The e-commerce giant has removed over 1 million coronavirus-related products for policy violations since the pandemic began, but its books section appears particularly vulnerable. Baily’s profile contains no verifiable information, and a nearly identical book by “Gerald Lim Wang” was deleted. Both were published through Amazon’s print-on-demand service and available through Kindle Unlimited, which pays authors per loan.
“Most of Amazon’s e-book competitors have a content approval process that keeps the worst content out,” said Nate Hoffelder, founder of The Digital Reader. “Internet companies try to run huge automated systems with little human oversight, and scammers can take advantage of the algorithms.”
Pattern of Deceptive Publishing Practices
Multiple questionable books currently rank highly in coronavirus searches:
“Dr. Kashif Saeed’s” guide contains identical descriptions to Baily’s work but with grammatical errors
Raymond Moroe’s typo-ridden “Sheild Against Corona-Virus” ranks eighth in sitewide searches
Many feature suspicious five-star reviews with broken English praising nonexistent quality
Amazon confirmed using combined automated and human moderation to enforce content policies. “We have always required sellers, authors and publishers to provide accurate information,” a spokesperson said, noting they now link to CDC advice atop relevant searches.
Systemic Problem in Digital Publishing
Hoffelder traced this pattern of abuse, when scammers first exploited Kindle Unlimited’s loan payment system. “The problem with scammers in the Kindle Store was the Kindle Store,” he observed, noting Amazon remains the only major retailer with this scale of fraudulent content despite dominating ebook market revenue.
Public health experts warn these plagiarized guides may spread misinformation during a critical period. With no editorial oversight, the books potentially drown out legitimate medical advice while profiting from public fear.
Amazon removed Baily’s book after NBC News’ inquiry, but similar works continue topping coronavirus searches as scammers adapt to evade detection systems.
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