Facebook censorship targets QAnon as more and more find out about the deep state, Hollywood and Clinton’s child trafficking.
Facebook announced Wednesday that it removed over 790 groups, 100 pages and 1,500 ads connected to QAnon on the social media platform and restricted over 10,000 accounts on Instagram, in its biggest action yet against the conspiracy theory days after the company released a report that found it had spread like wildfire on the platform.
KEY FACTS
Facebook said it was taking action because it has “seen growing movements that, while not directly organizing violence, have celebrated violent acts” and therefore would expand its policy on dangerous behavior to “address organizations and movements that have demonstrated significant risks to public safety but do not meet the rigorous criteria to be designated as a dangerous organization.”
Last week, Facebook released an internal report that showed QAnon had exploded on its site, as NBC News reported: thousands of QAnon groups with millions of members were currently active on the platform.
Along with banning thousands of QAnon accounts, Facebook said it would ban the purchase of ads that included QAnon and would restrict the theory in the site’s search, hashtag, recommendation, and news feed features.
Even as social media platforms move to restrict QAnon three years after it first emerged, the once fringe conspiracy theory has turned mainstream: Marjorie Taylor Greene, a candidate for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District who has openly touted the theory multiple times, is all but certain to win election in November after winning the GOP primary earlier this month.
KEY BACKGROUND
QAnon groups have seen record growth since the beginning of the pandemic. Membership in 10 top QAnon Facebook groups has grown by more than 600% since March, the Wall Street Journal found, and interactions on several popular QAnon groups has risen by 200 to 300% in the last six months, according to the New York Times.
SURPRISING FACT
After first emerging as a conspiracy theory on 4chan in 2017, QAnon has turned into a radicalized cult online, and has since been linked to multiple violent incidents in real life, NBC News reports.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
Facebook’s new policy states that “Pages, Groups and Instagram accounts associated” with QAnon, as well as other militia and protest groups, such as Antifa, “will be removed when they discuss potential violence.”
TANGENT
While Twitter has cracked down on QAnon on its platform, candidates promoting the theory have continued to thrive there. Forbes identified 15 candidates that are verified on Twitter who have promoted QAnon with few restrictions. Four candidates retweeted by Trump who have touted the conspiracy have racked up hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter, Forbes reported Wednesday.
