A conservative journal has been taken off the shelves in British retailer WH Smith after a single complaint was filed by a customer seemingly offended by its content, it has emerged.
The latest edition of the European Conservative, an English-language quarterly journal of philosophy, politics, and culture, featured a cartoon that satirized what it perceives to be the overenthusiastic teaching of LGBT content in schools and included a separate interview with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
In a post on the social networking platform, Instagram, the offended customer purported to be “shocked” at what they described as “fascist filth” being sold in a mainstream British retailer.
Their partner chimed in, insisting that they believe “we could all be more open to engaging respectfully with people we disagree with,” before calling on consumers to “consider boycotting” WH Smith until the retailer stops selling the offending magazine.
The customer, Alexi Kaye Campbell, posted a screenshot of an email exchange between himself and the chain on Saturday, in which the store confirmed it had “taken the decision to remove (the publication) from sale while we are in discussion with the publisher.”
Campbell praised the store for “making the ethical choice… Hatred won’t pass,” he added.
In a tweet on Sunday, the European Conservative confirmed that WH Smith had yet to contact them about the incident and the subsequent censorship of its content.
The publication subsequently posted the offending content on its Twitter account and encouraged users to make their own minds up.
WH Smith are yet to make any public comment on the decision.