At the time of writing, "Welcome to Sex" was the No. 1 bestseller on Amazon Australia's website. The book was temporarily out of stock.
The book was not the top bestseller across all of Amazon.
In July 2023, a claim began to spread online that a book called "Welcome to Sex" had become a No. 1 best-seller of all books on Amazon.
"#Cookers own goal just got even better," a Twitter post said on July 19, 2023. "The book "Welcome to Sex" now #1 best seller of all books on amazon." (According to the Australian Associated Press, a cooker is "a slang term sometimes used to describe a conspiracy theorist.")
#Cookers own goal just got even better. The book "Welcome to Sex" now #1 best seller of all books on amazon??? pic.twitter.com/InQV9zIAkv
— Cooker28 (@28Cooker) July 20, 2023
We also found unrelated posts about the claim on Twitter, as well as posts on Facebook.
The claim spread as Australian retailer Big W removed "Welcome to Sex" from its physical locations after staff members reported incidents of abuse by customers following a conservative backlash against the book. (At the time of writing, the book remains available to buy online on Big W's website.) According to The Conversation, critics particularly had issues with the book addressing inclusive sexual practices beyond penetrative sex, including scissoring and anal sex. The books Amazon listing describes it as a "frank, age-appropriate introductory guide to sex and sexuality for teens of all genders."
At the time of writing, Amazon Australia's website indeed listed "Welcome to Sex" as its No. 1 bestseller. The Amazon page for the book, the fourth in a series written by Yumi Stynes and Dr. Melissa Kang, said that it was temporarily out of stock. Reputable publications like the Sydney Morning Herald also reported the book had topped the Amazon charts.
However, the book was not the bestseller across all of Amazon, internationally. At the time of writing, "Welcome to Sex" was only listed on Amazon Australia as the No. 1 bestselling book.
For example, the No. 1 bestselling book on Amazon UK's website at the time of writing was "Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food … and Why Can't We Stop?" by Chris van Tulleken.
Because "Welcome to Sex" was the No. 1 bestselling book on Amazon Australia, but not Amazon's bestselling book overall, we gave this claim a Mixture rating.