Trans Book Bans Backfire on the Banners

Thursday, November 27, 2025

A Marketing Science study examined the staggered timing of book bans across states and found a 12 percent average increase in circulation for the most-targeted titles after a ban, compared with similar, unbanned books. The "ban effect" bled across borders: bans in one state nudged up checkouts in places without bans, too.

Posted by LampLighter at 09:32 AM | 23 COMMENTS | permalink

More from the article :

Two hundred miles south, Fairhope Public Library offers a cautionary tale of unintended consequences. When Alabama's board suspended and then revoked Fairhope's 2025 state aid over teen-shelf content earlier this year, locals raised roughly $40,000 in five days, essentially replacing the lost check. "It came as a complete shock," said a board volunteer as donations poured in.
There's a deeper pattern here. Attempts to hide books -- especially those with LGBTQ+ themes -- often make them more popular.
In the landmark Wichita Falls case a quarter-century ago, two picture books about same-sex parents were barely read until a political campaign targeted them; afterward, each title was checked out over a hundred times.

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More from the article ...

... Two hundred miles south, Fairhope Public Library offers a cautionary tale of unintended consequences. When Alabama's board suspended and then revoked Fairhope's 2025 state aid over teen-shelf content earlier this year, locals raised roughly $40,000 in five days, essentially replacing the lost check. "It came as a complete shock," said a board volunteer as donations poured in.

There's a deeper pattern here. Attempts to hide books -- especially those with LGBTQ+ themes -- often make them more popular.

In the landmark Wichita Falls case a quarter-century ago, two picture books about same-sex parents were barely read until a political campaign targeted them; afterward, each title was checked out over a hundred times. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-26 03:19 AM

@#2 ... Got a link to a non-paywalled source? ...

Sadly, Newsweek is now paywalled. Similar to Axios site.

When I cited that, I did not know it was paywalled.

I have taken Newsweek off the bookmarks that I tend to visit.

Which is a shame because, I had liked Axios, I considered it an excellent news site. But if they want to cut themselves off from people, that is their choice. Ditto for newsweek.com.

Newsweek -- Bias and Credibility
mediabiasfactcheck.com

... Overall, we rate Newsweek Right-Center Biased based on editorial positions that slightly favor the right. We also rate them as Mostly Factual in reported rather than high due to having to make corrections on false information after publication. ...

Axios -- Bias and Credibility
mediabiasfactcheck.com

... Overall, we rate Axios just Left of Center biased based on story selection that slightly favors the left. They are High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and zero failed fact checks. ...

But they both have put up a paywall, as your comment notes.

{sigh}

Oh well...