Twitter has removed more than 70,000 accounts related to the QAnon conspiracy theory in its latest crackdown and effort to distance i...
Twitter has removed more than 70,000 accounts related to the QAnon conspiracy theory in its latest crackdown and effort to distance itself from the violent content.
Twitter announced the sweep of suspensions on Monday saying it removed the accounts since Friday in the wake of last week's protest at the US Capitol.
It comes after social media platform permanently banned President Donald Trump from its service last week 'due to the risk of further incitement of violence' after Wednesday’s Capitol siege. Facebook also locked Trump’s account.
Twitter said it cracked down on posts that have 'the potential to lead to offline harm' in its QAnon suspensions.
The app said they found some users operated multiple QAnon accounts.
Twitter has removed more than 70,000 accounts related to the QAnon conspiracy theory in its latest crackdown and effort to distance itself from the violent content. File image of QAnon activists outside the Fox News headquarters in Manhattan in November
Twitter announced the sweep of suspensions on Monday saying it removed the accounts since Friday in the wake of last week's protest at the US Capitol. A mass of Trump supporters left his rally on Wednesday and headed straight for the Capitol
'These accounts were engaged in sharing harmful QAnon-associated content at scale and were primarily dedicated to the propagation of this conspiracy theory across the service,' the company said in a blog post.
Following Wednesday’s protest where frenzied Trump supporters stormed their way into the Capitol building in a chaotic riot that left five dead, social media giants have sought to distance themselves from right-wing conspiracy theorists.
The QAnon conspiracy is a discredited and disproved far-right conspiracy theory that alleges a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles are running a global child sex-trafficking ring and are plotting against Donald Trump, who is considered a hero fighting against the cabal. Theorists say that high-ranking Democratic politicians and Hollywood actors are in on this dark ring.
A woman who broke into the Capitol building and was shot and killed, was a QAnon believer named Ashli Babbitt, according to the New York Times.
Twitter permanently banned President Donald Trump from its service last week for its tweets 'due to the risk of further incitement of violence' after Wednesday’s Capitol siege. Facebook also locked Trump’s account. Trump pictured at his Wednesday rally
'These accounts were engaged in sharing harmful QAnon-associated content at scale and were primarily dedicated to the propagation of this conspiracy theory across the service,' the company said in a blog post. A QAnon demonstrator in Los Angeles, California above in August
This isn't the first time Twitter has cracked down on QAnon conspiracy theorists. In July Twitter did another QAnon sweep banning 7,000 accounts linked to the conspiracy theory
On Monday Facebook said it will remove any content referring to 'Stop the Steal,' the phrase used by Trump supporters who falsely claim the presidential election was stolen from Trump.
Facebook and Twitter have faced major challenges in the past year, cracking down on false information regarding the election and the coronavirus pandemic.
In August Facebook banned QAnon groups that called for violence. Then in October the platform said it would remove any group, page or Instagram account that openly identifies as QAnon.
In July Twitter did another QAnon sweep banning 7,000 accounts linked to the conspiracy theory.