Roosh Valizadeh (aka Roosh V) is a controversial men's dating advice writer. Recently, Amazon has banned and removed nine of his books from their bookstore. Immediately after Amazon banned his books, many other platforms (though much, much smaller than Amazon) like Kobo did the same. Amazon did not give Roosh a reason for the removal of his books, including his new release (and Amazon bestseller before it was banned and removed) "Game."
It's important to note that many of these books have been selling for years, with thousands of sales and dozens of reviews, and that Roosh was never given a chance to change, edit, or modify his content. He was simply banned.
For years, I've been telling my readers and listeners to start their own business or creative pursuit on their own platform, and not to 'rent' the space of a platform like Facebook, or Amazon, or Google - because they can decide on a whim how they operate, which could crush your business. Now, the threat is greater because it's not just a change in the algorithm of a platform that could tank your business. Instead, it's what this small group of private companies decide is acceptable to view or buy - and you as a consumer or content creator have effectively no recourse.
Roosh was banned from Amazon, and de-platformed across several channels. And that's why I wanted to speak with him - because I believe other creators can learn from his experience, including how to avoid having your business completely wiped out if you get banned, de-platformed, or if these companies simply change their algorithms that you rely on for traffic and sales.
This interview is in no way an endorsement of Roosh's dating advice, books, ideas, etc. It's a conversation about censorship - online censorship in particular - and how you can protect yourself as an independent creator. And even if you think you're the most lukewarm writer, with no ideas that could ever rock the boat - you still want to listen to this interview, because you, in fact, could be next.
In this broadcast, Roosh V and I talk about:
- How Roosh was banned from Amazon and had 8 of his books removed from the platform in one day.
- How Amazon has responded to the banning of Roosh's books (their reason for banning him)
- How Roosh has been able to survive the de-platforming by building a business on his own platform (where he continues to sell his books)
- Whether we should allow a private cartel of companies to control what we see and don't see online
- The future of digital book burning (and why some people are cheering it on)
And much more...
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