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In response to mounting pressure from Buckingham Palace, Amazon has swiftly removed several controversial books from its platform amid the news about King Charles's cancer diagnosis.
The books in question purportedly delved into sensitive topics surrounding King Charles's battle with cancer, sparking outrage and concern from royal officials as they allegedly contained false information about him and were written by AI, according to The Independent.
On February 11, 2024, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the books were "insensitive" and "inaccurate." The statement also said that legal actions would be taken, and organizations or individuals would be asked to take their sales down, as per The Independent.
Mail on Sunday, on Sunday, February 11, 2024, reported that Amazon has listed several books allegedly comprising false information about King Charles's health condition. They also alleged that these books were written by artificial intelligence.
On February 5, 2024, it was announced by Buckingham Palace that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer, which was detected while he was undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate in London.
Amazon's AI fabrication of King Charles's illness: Buckingham Palace to take legal actions
Buckingham Palace, on Sunday, called on all entities facilitating the sale of these books being sold on Amazon to withdraw from the platform and further added that their legal team would be looking into the matter.
The palace criticized the sales of these books and called them "insensitive" and "intrusive." As reported in The Mirror, the allegedly AI-written books claimed that King Charles felt "fear, anger and despair" when he came to know about the diagnosis of his cancer.
As seen in the publication, the books also claimed that King Charles had undergone an operation to remove the tumour, and that he had gone through a procedure of chemotherapy and radiation treatment and felt fatigued. The Mirror also stated that the books claimed that he has "skin cancer and prostate cancer."
However, royal officials have not yet confirmed the type of cancer he has been diagnosed with, nor have they made any mention of a tumour, suggesting that the books contained a significant amount of false information. According to The Mirror, the books were printed and distributed by Amazon with a price range from £6.99 ($ 8.82) for an e-book to £15.99 ($ 20.18) for a paperback.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said their legal team would be involved in countering this issue. As per The Independent, they said,
"Any such titles speculating about His Majesty's diagnosis and treatment are intrusive, insensitive and filled with inaccuracies. Our legal team will be looking at the issue closely. We call on any individuals or organizations facilitating their sale to withdraw them immediately."
In response to this statement, Amazon has removed the contentious titles, emphasizing its commitment to upholding ethical standards and respecting privacy rights. Amazon stated,
"Amazon is constantly evaluating emerging technologies and is committed to providing the best possible shopping, reading and publishing experience for authors and customers. We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale and promptly investigate any book when a concern is raised."
They further added,
"We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed and remove books that do not adhere to these guidelines. While we allow AI-generated content, we don't allow AI-generated content that violates our content guidelines, including content that creates a disappointing customer experience. We have removed the titles we found that violated our content guidelines."
The removal of these books comes amidst heightened scrutiny over using AI-generated content in literary works.
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