Facebook has just brought down one of the biggest targets of its crackdown on QAnon conspiracy theories. The social network told Reuters that it had been disposed of by Official Q/Qanon, an organization of nearly 200,000 members, after several publications allegedly violated policies opposed to harassment, hatred and potentially destructive misinformation. The closure came into effect on August 4, Facebook said, but was not revealed until August 6 (and was made public on August 7).
The company added that it is tracking the other QAnon teams on the site.
This comes weeks after Twitter banned thousands of accounts that spread the unfounded conspiracy theory.
It’s not unexpected that Facebook is doing this. The FBI believes QAnon is likely to be a source of violence. Even while Facebook may resist the content ban, it is willing to use any curtain that can also lead to genuine threats, such as “boogals.” Several violations also recommend that organization directors are unable or undyed to prevent their users from breaking the rules. Possibly, this would be a more effective option than isolating individuals.