Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) has been criticized for a section in her book that described shooting her hunting dog and a goat. Now, Amazon is restricting access to user reviews on Noem’s new work.
When trying to review the book on the popular online retail site, an error message appears saying, “Amazon has noticed unusual reviewing activity on this product. Due to this activity, we have limited this product to verified purchase reviews.”
A hardcover version is selling for $18.99 on Amazon and has only three ratings and two reviews as of Wednesday. However, one review has attracted a lot of attention from Amazon shoppers.
“Lack of empathy, perpetual victim-carding, half-truths, lies, and attempts to re-write history,” the one-star review says, and more than 260 people marked the review as “helpful,” potentially providing a clue that Amazon shut down reviews due to an anticipated negative backlash.
Noem has already received a firestorm of negative backlash on social media for her written actions in her new book, and PETA called her a “psychotic loony” for killing her dog and goat. She’s also been called out for claiming she met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though many have said that it is highly unlikely she did, and Noem has removed the excerpt from her book.
“We want Amazon customers to shop with confidence knowing that the reviews they see are authentic and trustworthy,” an Amazon spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. If we notice unusual reviewing activity, we will occasionally limit reviews to verified purchases only.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Noem for comment but has not received a response.
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Noem’s previous book, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland, had 2,527 ratings with a rating average of 4.8 stars. That rating has likely been affected by a rash of new one-star reviews that don’t have a verified purchase label, most slamming Noem for her new book.
Noem was previously reportedly on former President Donald Trump’s vice-president short list but is now considered highly unlikely to gain the position.
