Facebook abolished nearly 800 groups belonging to the far-right conspiracy theory group QAnon on Wednesday, as well as more than 1,500 ads and 100 pages linked to the group, in an attempt to curb "acts of violence".
In a blog post, Facebook said the action was part of a broader "Dangerous People and Organizations" policy to remove and restrict content that has led to real-life violence. The policy will also affect militia groups and political protest organizations such as Antifa.
"While we allow users to post content that supports these movements and groups, we will limit their ability to organize on our platform as long as they do not otherwise violate our content guidelines," the company said.
QAnon supporters believe in a widely refuted "Deep State" conspiracy that President Donald Trump is working on to eradicate pedophilia and Satanism across Washington DC. Conspiracy theorists recently looked at the public health COVID-19 crisis, calling it a "bio-weapon".
QAnon theories hit the mainstream after the #Pizzagate controversy, in which a man brought a gun to a pizzeria and claimed he was finding victims of child abuse. The group has also been linked to dozens of other violent incidents based on unsubstantiated theories shared on private Facebook groups and message boards.
Facebook took action against QAnon earlier this month when it tore down an influential group of more than 200,000 members. However, Wednesday's move may be the social media giant's largest move yet.
The company said it will prevent QAnon content from appearing on the Recommendations tab, reduce content in search results, and prevent QAnon-related accounts and groups from monetizing content, selling goods, raising donations, and promoting to buy on Facebook and Instagram. The company plans to continue exploring how QAnon works on its platform by "using the specific terminology and symbolism used by supporters to identify the language of those groups and movements that indicate violence and take appropriate action".
In the past few months, other social media sites like Twitter and TikTok have banned and disabled popular QAnon hashtags, explaining spurious, coordinated behavior and the spread of disinformation.
Don't expect QAnon to quietly go away, however: experts have labeled QAnon members "really good at adapting" to online ecosystems, and several QAnon supporters have won primaries for public office on platforms that share conspiracy theories shared within the group represent.
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