• Amazon reportedly gave some sellers "Small Business" badges even though they were large companies, The Information reports.

• "Black-Owned Small Business" badges were also reportedly given to companies that aren't Black-owned.

• The findings call into question Amazon's badge programs ability to boost sales for third-party vendors.

Amazon has reportedly miscategorized some businesses selling on its site as being "small" and "Black-owned," The Information reported earlier this week. 

Amazon gave "Small Business" badges to sellers that are "multinational corporations with thousands of employees," The Information reported. Amazon has said the badges are intended for US companies with fewer than 100 employees and less than $50 million in revenue.

Likewise, Amazon reportedly also gave "Black-Owned Small Business" badges to companies that were not actually Black-owned, The Information reported.

When The Information reached out for comment, Amazon removed the badges from some of the products it apparently miscategorized, though some still remain. Amazon didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The Information's findings could call into question whether Amazon's badge programs intended to help boost sales for small businesses and those run by Black founders really work. They come amid criticisms that Amazon's iron grip on the American customer is hurting local commerce.

For instance, Amazon gave companies like coffee bean and clothing store Black Rifle Coffee Co. a badge even though it generated over $300 million in revenue in 2022, The Information reported. The company has a market cap of $1.1 billion as of this year.

Backpacks and luggage from SwissGear, a subsidiary of knife manufacturer Victorinox that made $446 million in revenue as of December 2021, per Pitchbook, also received the badge. Clothes from sportswear firm Cutter & Buck, and kitchen items and handbags from vendors based in China, did as well, The Information said.