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Twitter Cracks Down on QAnon Associated Accounts, Citing Potential for Offline Harm

The company has removed more than 7,000 accounts over the last few weeks and expects over 150,000 accounts globally to have reduced visibility going forward.

Twitter announced Tuesday night that it’s taking comprehensive action to limit the reach of QAnon content by banning associated accounts and blocking associated URLs from being shared.

Twitter has removed more than 7,000 accounts over the last few weeks for such violations and expects over 150,000 accounts globally to have reduced visibility due to these measures.

The QAnon conspiracy theory is centered on the groundless notion that Trump has been waging a secret campaign against enemies in the so-called “deep state” — including Democratic politicians and liberal Hollywood celebrities — who have been operating a global child sex trafficking ring. These pedophiles are said to worship Satan, and Trump was elected specifically to fight them.

The conspiracy theory is, of course, popular among many of Trump’s extreme supporters, with rally attendees sporting QAnon symbols and slogans on clothing and hats.

Trump himself has consistently fueled the fire of such lunacy. As recently as 10 days ago, on July 12, 2020, he retweeted 14 messages from accounts supporting QAnon.

According to an analysis by Media Matters, Trump has retweeted at least 185 posts from 114 individual pro-QAnon accounts. Just since the coronavirus pandemic began, he’s retweeted at least 90 posts from 49 different pro-QAnon accounts.

Writing in Media Matters, Alex Kaplan writes, “Additionally, members of Trump’s family, his personal attorney, current and former campaign staffers, and even some current and former Trump administration officials have also repeatedly amplified QAnon supporters and their content.”

A Twitter spokesperson told NBC News that, while the targeted enforcement fell under the company’s existing platform manipulation rules, its classification of QAnon material and behavior as coordinated harmful activity was a new designation.

The spokesperson said that an FBI report on QAnon’s ties to dangerous real-world activities led in part to Twitter’s decision. The FBI designated QAnon as a potential domestic terrorist threat last year.

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Source: Equities News

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