Twitter announced that it was banning 7000 QAnon accounts and limiting the spread of 150,000 others in an effort to address violations of their terms of service, and how Qanon activities on Twitter often led to harmful actions in real spaces beyond the internet.
The social media giant said it would also stop recommending content linked to QAnon and block URLs associated with it from being shared on the platform.
QAnon is a sprawling conspiracy theory whose followers support President Donald Trump.
Twitter said it hoped the action would help to prevent “offline harm”.
In a statement shared on the platform, Twitter said it would permanently suspend accounts that violate its policies while tweeting about QAnon.
The suspensions will be applied to accounts that are “engaged in violations of our multi-account policy, coordinating abuse around individual victims, or are attempting to evade a previous suspension – something we’ve seen more of in recent weeks,” the statement said.
The suspensions are expected to impact about 150,000 accounts worldwide. More than 7,000 accounts have been removed in recent weeks for violations, Twitter said.
Followers of QAnon believe “deep-state” traitors are plotting against President Donald Trump. The conspiracy theory has jumped from fringe social media sites to mainstream attention.
QAnon supporters have been linked to numerous other false claims that have spread online, including a bizarre conspiracy theory involving a US furniture company and allegations of child trafficking.
In 2019, the FBI issued a warning about “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists” and designated QAnon a potential domestic extremist threat.
Michael Flynn Jr., one of Donald Trump’s aides, has lost his job after fanning so-called Pizzagate conspiracy theory that climaxed at the weekend in gunfire at a pizzeria.
The 33-year-old left the president-elect’s transition team on December 6 following his tweets about the Pizzagate fake news story.
His father, Michael Flynn Sr., Donald Trump’s pick to be US national security adviser, has also shared fake news.
The Pizzagate hoax led to a gunman firing shots in a restaurant on December 4.
No one was injured in the incident at Comet Ping Pong in Washington DC.
Image source Flickr
The suspect told police he had turned up to “self-investigate” online rumor-mongering that the pizzeria was the nexus of a pedophile ring involving Hillary Clinton and one of her aides, John Podesta.
The bizarre and unfounded theory had been spread online by right-wing blogs.
The claims were also pushed by Michale Flynn Jr., who tweeted after December 4 gunfire that Pizzagate would remain a story until “proven to be false”.
The New York Times reports that he was fired from the Trump transition team on December 6 but, according to CBS News, he resigned before he was sacked.
The Trump team confirmed the departure of Michael Flynn Jr. – who had reportedly been given a .gov email address – but did not confirm it was related to the tweets.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence acknowledged that Michael Flynn Jr. had been helping his father with scheduling and administrative items during the transition but said “that’s no longer the case”.
Asked repeatedly whether a security clearance was requested, Mike Pence refused to answer directly.
Michael Flynn Sr., 57, has also tweeted out unsubstantiated conspiracy theories accusing Hillary Clinton and her aides of child-s** trafficking.
Among the retired lieutenant general’s other tweets was an allegation that President Barack Obama was a “jihadi” who “laundered” money for terrorists.
Critics have said Michael Flynn Sr. is unfit to advise Donald Trump on the veracity of national security threats facing the US.
In December 4 armed confrontation, the suspect allegedly walked into Comet Ping Pong and pointed a rifle at an employee before firing shots into the ground.
Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, from North Carolina, has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
The Pizzagate theory originated on alternative message board 4chan, based on emails hacked from the Democratic Party and leaked by WikiLeaks.
The restaurant’s owner, James Alefantis, a Democratic Party donor, appears in the emails in relation to organizing a Democratic fundraiser.
Users of 4chan and Reddit had said words in the emails such as cheese, hot dog, and pizza were code for young children and s** acts.
A photo of man bearing a striking resemblance to Jay-Z has surfaced, and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was taken in 1939, you’d swear it was the rapper himself.
The image, taken by Sid Grossman, is part of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center’s collection.
The 1939 image shows a man sitting outside a stone building, dressed in typical though stylish attire for the decade: a news-boy cap and a full suit.
The man is staring down the camera lens with a distinct sense of attitude and intent.
Best of all, the man from the past has exactly the same poise and swagger as present day 43-year-old Jay-Z.
However, if you really wanted to start a conspiracy theory, you’d only need to look at the titles of Jay-Z’s albums and singles.
Jay-Z’s extensive list of titles include: In My Lifetime, The Best of Both Worlds (with R. Kelly), Don’t Let Me Die, Young Forever and Encore… mortality and immortality sure do seem to be running themes in the singer’s works.
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