Thousands of conspiracy theorists banned from Twitter. Here’s what to know about QAnon
Twitter announced Tuesday it will permanently suspend accounts and block content associated with “QAnon” activity, according to a thread of Tweets.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory popular among online users that promote ideas on child sex trafficking rings, pedophilia and satanism, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Many of its followers have also shown support for President Donald Trump, claiming he is working to fight the “deep state” that is trying to take control of the government and harm the people.
The social media platform said its decision stems from its dedication to taking “strong enforcement action” against behavior that could lead to offline harm.
“We will permanently suspend accounts Tweeting about these topics that we know are engaged in violations of our multi-account policy, coordinating abuse around individual victims, or are attempting to evade a previous suspension — something we’ve seen more of in recent weeks,” Twitter wrote. “As we work at scale to protect the public conversation in the face of evolving threats, we’ll continue to lead with transparency and offer more context on our efforts.”
The platform also said it will “no longer serve content and accounts” involved in QAnon trends, ensurethe activity is not highlighted in search results and block URLs tied to the conspiracy theory from being shared.
So far, Twitter has removed over 7,000 accounts in the last few weeks, and predicts that over 150,000 more will be affected by the wipe out, the Associated Press reported.
The move was partly made based on the FBI’s designation of QAnon as a “potential domestic terrorist threat” last year, a Twitter spokesperson told NBC News.
What to know about QAnon
It’s believed that the conspiracy theories gained traction in 2017 when anonymous messages started appearing on message boards by someone or a group of people referred to by “Q,” media outlets report.
Since QAnon’s fame arose both online and in politics, several people accused of crimes — including an Arizona man who held an armed standoff and a Colorado woman accused of planning to kidnap her child — have expressed being motivated or helped by QAnon.
The Anti-Defamation League says believers tout sexist, racist, xenophobic and antisemitic ideas, some of which include a “non-existent ”(Hillary) Clinton sex tape,” the faked death of JFK and Satanic blood rituals.
According to the AP, Trump has retweeted “QAnon-promoting accounts” and his followers have sported the conspiracy theory’s symbols on clothes and hats.
Other GOP members have also shown support for the conspiracy.
Lauren Boebert, a candidate for Colorado’s 3rd district, said, “everything I heard of Q — I hope that this is real because it only means America is getting stronger and better, and people are returning to conservative values, and that’s what I am for,” she said in a May interview, according to CNN.
After Twitter’s decision to remove QAnon content from its platform, one expert says its believers may just migrate elsewhere.
“QAnon has been instigating networked harassment, not just of politicians and celebrities but of private citizens they believe are involved in a satanic pedophile cult,” Alice Marwick, a professor studying disinformation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told NPR.
“They have large presences on Facebook groups and on YouTube. They also have their own sites and message boards, and they’re very good at adapting when social platforms change.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Thousands of conspiracy theorists banned from Twitter. Here’s what to know about QAnon."
