‘F–k China’ bumper sticker not showing up correctly in Amazon search results

Amazon.com listed a bumper sticker with the slogan “F-k China” as the top search result for Chinese-themed sweaters and t-shirts, which stunned a young Asian shopper who needed an outfit for a school event.

A source alerted The Post to the listing, first discovered by a Chinese-American teenager who was told to bring a Chinese-themed T-shirt for a school event. The student, whose family is from Hong Kong, bought the T-shirt from Amazon.

The Post obtained a screen shot of Amazon’s buyer search results for “China Flag Jersey” showing a bumper stick in the front row of products that were unrelated to the search topic.

When The Post ran an Amazon search for “Chinese T-shirt,” the site returned similar results with a bumper sticker at the top of the page.

Upon review, Amazon stated that the bumper sticker was incorrectly included in the customer’s search results and will no longer appear in the query in the future.

“Customer trust is a top priority, and we are working to maintain that trust throughout the entire shopping experience,” Amazon spokeswoman Alyssa Bronicowski said in a statement. “We are constantly monitoring our store and acting quickly if we discover or receive a notice of an issue.”

While Amazon has rules governing potentially vulgar or offensive content, the definition of what constitutes infringement can be unclear, according to James Thomson, a former Amazon insider who is a consultant for Amazon sellers.

“It’s hard to define the difference between insult and censorship,” Thomson said.

“I think if Amazon finds out that this product is listed, someone might think, yeah, we shouldn’t have that… it’s a gray area of ​​what constitutes offensive material,” Thomson added.

Thomson noted that searching for the word “fk” yielded more than 8,000 results on Amazon.

Amazon detailed its approach to selling “controversial products and content” in a blog post updated last month.

“Our offensive and controversial product policy prohibits the sale of products that promote, incite or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance, or promote organizations with such views, as well as lists that graphically depict violence or victims of violence — the company said in a statement.

“We periodically review and update these policies based on experience, current events and other relevant developments, and in consultation with internal and external resources,” the company added.

The “F-k China” bumper sticker comes from a California-based artist named Brian Bula, who sells a variety of products with slogans that target all sides of the political spectrum. Other bumper stickers in his Amazon store read: “Fuck Putin,” “Fuck Joe Biden,” and “Trump 20 to 24 years in prison.”

Bula’s website describes him as “politically independent with friends from both the right and the left.”

When Bula reached out for comment, he noted that he also sells the “I love China” button design and has no control over where Amazon’s algorithm lists his products in search.

“I’m sure you know that Amazon’s algorithms decide which products to show, and search results are personalized and based on previous searches and the information Amazon collects on and off its marketplace,” Bula said.

“Many of my products are political in nature, and I and my products are constantly under attack from politically motivated supporters on both sides,” he added.