In a striking move, Twitter announced that it had permanently removed thousands of accounts that spread messages about conspiracy theories known as QAnon, saying their messages could lead to harm and violated Twitter policy.
Twitter said it would also block trends related to the network of QAnon conspiracy theories from appearing in its search and trending topics, and would not allow users to post links affiliated with the theories.
It was the first time that a social media service took comprehensive action to remove content tied to QAnon, whose popularity is growing on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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According to two Facebook employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Facebook is preparing to take similar steps to limit the reach of QAnon content on its platform. They said the company has been coordinating with Twitter and other social media companies and plans to make an announcement next month. Facebook declined to comment.
In May, Facebook removed a group of five pages, twenty Facebook accounts, and six groups affiliated with QAnon, saying they had violated its policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior.
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Allegedly, QAnon is a movement of people who interpret as a kind of truth the online messages of an unknown figure – “Q” – who declares knowledge of a secret patriotic crusade, led by President Trump, against the “deep state”. They believe a “Great Awakening” that will reveal the truth is on the horizon. The group also claims to have access to government secrets that reveal a plot against President Trump and his supporters.
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Alice Marwick, an associate professor of communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said of Qanon:
It’s a conspiracy theory that makes wild claims and baseless accusations about political actors and innocent people alike.
These accounts amplify and enable networked harassment on a level that’s clearly against the Twitter terms of service. But this won’t stop QAnon from operating. It’s multiplatform and really good at adapting as media ecosystems change.1
Over several weeks, Twitter has removed 7,000 accounts that posted QAnon material, a company spokeswoman said. The accounts had been increasingly active. An additional 150,000 accounts will be hidden from trends and search on Twitter, the spokeswoman added.
