Twitter Permanently Suspends Thousands of QAnon Accounts
Written by SOURCE on July 22, 2020
Twitter has launched a sweeping crackdown on the far-right conspiracy theory movement QAnon.
According to NBC News, the social media platform has permanently suspended more than 7,000 affiliated accounts and intends to limit the reach of other QAnon accounts. Twitter will reportedly do this by blocking URLs associated with the conspiracy theory group, and keeping QAnon-related accounts/content off of emails, trending lists, and follow recommendations. A spokesperson for the company said approximately 150,000 accounts will be affected.
Twitter addressed the move in a couple of tweets Tuesday, explaining the crackdown was part of the company’s overall effort to curb online harassment and the spread of misinformation.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory that is based on the unsupported belief that President Donald Trump is trying to save America from the “deep state”—a clandestine network of corrupt politicians, intelligence agents, and media elites. In 2019, the fringe group was deemed a potential domestic terrorist threat by the FBI, as it could inspire “groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts.” QAnon is known for propagating conspiracy theories like Pizzagate and the recent Wayfairgate.
QAnon supporters have also been accused of orchestrating harassment campaigns against prominent critics of President Trump. Chrissy Teigen was reportedly targeted by QAnon-affiliated accounts in recent weeks.
