Washington Post Adds, Then Removes, Amazon 'Buy It Now' Buttons From Story

For a few hours this weekend, it looked like Jeff Bezos had finally showed his hand with The Washington Post

Several readers pointed out on Twitter over the weekend that a Washington Post story about the book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory included multiple Amazon "Buy It Now" buttons within the text of the article.

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While it's certainly not uncommon for online publications to include links to Amazon or other ecommerce sites when relevant, the use of multiple affiliate links in the text sparked a bit of a backlash online. Some argued that it was a predictable but still a questionable move to effectively use The Washington Post, acquired last year by Bezos, to drive sales to Amazon, the company he founded and runs. The debate only received additional fuel later in the weekend when the Buy It Now buttons were mysteriously removed from the article. Read more...

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