Facebook on Tuesday classified the QAnon conspiracy theory movement as dangerous and began removing Facebook groups and pages as well as Instagram accounts that hold themselves out as representatives.
Gloria Tso reports.
Facebook bans all QAnon groups as dangerous
Facebook began removing groups and pages linked to conspiracy theory movement QAnon on Tuesday (October 6), classifying them as dangerous.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory that believes U.S. President Donald Trump is secretly fighting a group of child-sex predators that includes prominent Democrats, Hollywood elites and "deep state" allies.
Researchers say recent QAnon posts have spread false information about voting and about COVID-19, even claiming that Trump faked his COVID-19 diagnosis in order to orchestrate secret arrests.
In a company blog post, Facebook announced they would now treat QAnon like other militarized bodies, seeking out and deleting groups and pages instead of relying on user reports across both Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook's latest step marks a major escalation from an earlier policy in August.
That banned just a third of QAnon groups for promoting violence while allowing most to stay, albeit with their content appearing less often in news feeds.
But since the August restrictions, some QAnon groups have added members.
Others have used coded language to evade detection, some referring to the word "cue" instead of the letter Q.
Meanwhile, researchers say QAnon adherents have also integrated themselves in other groups, such as those concerned with child safety and those critical of restrictions on gatherings due to the coronavirus.
Classed as a potential source of domestic terrorism by the FBI, QAnon is driven by an anonymous internet poster nicknamed Q, who claims to be a Trump administration insider.
And the fictitious Satanic rituals that the group cites echo longstanding legends used to anger people for political reasons, often against minorities.
However, Trump has praised the group as patriotic -- and more than a dozen Republican congressional candidates have promoted it.