Amazon removes the healthcare industry series after UnitedHealth calls it “honorary humiliation”

The documentary series criticizing the US healthcare industry was removed from Amazon's video streaming platform earlier this year after being criticized by UnitedHealth, which is allegedly “defamous.”

Developed by Wisconsin filmmaker Mary Strouses, Docuseries has been removed from the platform after a law firm employed by UnitedHealth said it slandered the healthcare company after sending a letter to Amazon advocating the series.

This video has been removed from both Amazon and Vimeo platforms as a result of UnitedHealth's legal efforts. Furthermore, their actions led the Guardian to postpone the publication of articles investigating the company after suing media organizations over another article they allegedly suffered.

This is the latest indication of a more aggressive campaign that United Health has been adopted to silence detractors, according to the New York Times. The company began targeting media that criticizes them in one way or another, claiming that such criticism promotes violence against employees after the shooting of CEO Brian Thompson last year.

The new campaign shows a growing willingness for businesses to collect legal impact on critics and detractors. Observers point out that similar campaigns have been on the rise since the Trump administration took over power.

“Some versions of this have been going on for a long time,” said Lee Levine, a retired First Amendment attorney who defended news outlets, including the New York Times. However, “the incidence is increasing,” he noted.

UnitedHealth has recently experienced a negative impact from negative coverage. This could be a motivating factor for new approaches. According to the Wall Street Journal, they are actively dealing with multiple federal criminal and civil investigations, including investigations into supposed Medicare fraud and antitrust violations.

“Negative advertising could negatively affect our stock price, damage our reputation, and expose us to unexpected or unfair regulation scrutiny,” UnitedHealth said in its recent annual report.