I'm really disappointed in the framing of @thebookseller's survey on social media, and on the way the questions and multiple choice answers are phrased: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/bookseller-asks-trade-views-social-media-1209089

I think it plays into a narrative that books are regularly “cancelled”. I can of very, very few examples (not even a handful) of books that weren’t published following criticism. Even then, those books were criticised beyond the social media sphere.

I think it also shows a fundamental misunderstanding of why books/companies are criticised, and doesn't take into account how the people criticising are harmed and hurt by the books, and the reactions to their concerns.

And I have a problem with the idea that the “limits of what is acceptable to publish are shifting”. It’s never been ok to publish racist or homophobic books (as two examples).

What's changed is that the people affected by these books, who are marginalised further or hurt, whose voices weren’t heard or listened to, can speak out on platforms where they are heard. And publishers don't know how to deal with that.