Amid pressure to stop the spread of misinformation, Amazon seized selling two books from its online marketplace that promoted cures for autism based on unscientific claims, according to NBC News.
Healing the Symptoms Known as Autism and Fight Autism and Win were removed March 12 from the online retail giant's offerings. Amazon did not provide reason for the books' removal and didn't indicate if this was part of a larger effort to stop the spread of misinformation.
On March 11, a Wired report slammed Amazon for promoting medically unproven books, which describe dangerous methods to cure autism spectrum disorder.
The development disorder often found in children has no cure.
In Healing the Symptoms Known as Autism, the authors described using chlorine dioxide on children. The author claimed 191 children have been cured using this method. The FDA has warned chlorine dioxide causes "sever nausea, vomiting and life-threatening low blood pressure from dehydration," NBC News reports.
The other book that Amazon banned, Fight Autism and Win, puts pressure on parents to use chelation, an unproven method that involves medicating children with an antidote for mercury poisoning. This therapy can cause deadly kidney damage and a slew of other serious side effects, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Anti-vaccine activist Larry Cook shared the news to his followers in a newsletter. Mr. Cook reportedly attached an imagine from Amazon about the books' removal.
"During our review process, we found that the subject matter of y our book is in violation of our content guidelines," Amazon wrote Mr. Cook, according to NBC News. "As a result, we cannot offer this book for sale."