Facebook removes QAnon conspiracy group after repeated policy violations
Social networking company Facebook has reportedly deleted a group page which was dedicated to sharing and discussing QAnon conspiracy theories.
- Tech News
- 2 min read
Social networking company Facebook has reportedly deleted a group page which was dedicated to sharing and discussing QAnon conspiracy theories. According to international media reports, QAnon is a far-right movement whose members support the unfounded belief that a secret coalition of powerful figures is targeting US President Donald Trump. The group members are largely supporters of Trump and have even circulated disproven theories in the past surrounding former US President Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.
A Facebook spokeswoman reportedly said that the group was removed for repeatedly posting content that violated the company’s policies. The now-deleted group, called Official Q/QAnon, had nearly 200,000 members. Even though Facebook deleted, what is believed to be the movement’s second-largest group, the spokeswoman reportedly said other similar groups still remain active.
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QAnon ‘crossed the line’
According to reports, QAnon had claimed that Obama and Clinton practise Satanism and are also involved in a global paedophilia ring. Several officials said that the group ‘crossed the line’ on bullying, harassment, hate speech and the sharing of potentially harmful misinformation.
The FBI had also reportedly issued a warning about the ‘conspiracy theory-driven by domestic extremists’ last year. The bureau identified that how an individual’s belief in conspiracy theories or hoaxes may have or did result in violence, citing the Tree of Life synagogues shooting and the QAnon conspiracy.
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Meanwhile, Facebook is not the only firm that has tried to put a stop to QAnon content. Back in July Twitter said that it was cracking down on ‘so-called QAnon activity’. The microblogging website had reportedly removed nearly 7,000 accounts associated with content pertaining to the movement. Chinese-app TikTok had also disabled two popular hashtags associated with QAnon in late July.