Facebook is making its prohibition policy stricter for QAnon related groups by expanding a ban on QAnon related content responsible for spreading potential violence. The company clarified that it will take immediate action against any Facebook Page, Group, or account on Instagram that represents QAnon.
QAnon is a set of conspiracy theories in favor of U.S. President Donald Trump. Some more active members of QAnon have even been charged with terrorism due to their violent and dangerous behavior.
Within a year, QAnon managed to rise from a mere conspiracy theory to a mainstream ‘'political belief system’', and it surprisingly even has its own Congressional candidates. The dangerous community has gained power through social networks that connect like-minded people to one another, hence becoming the reason for quick and large-scale spread of misinformation and a rise in radical beliefs.
Twitter also took action against QAnon back in July, by citing concerns regarding ‘'offline harm’'. It further removed QAnon related content from trending pages and algorithmic suggestions, hence reducing its spread.
There is no certainty as to how successful the Facebook will be at clearing QAnon related content from its platforms. Furthermore, the company even stated that its effort to purge QAnon will ‘'take time’'.
