Twitter announced on Watch Vidocq OnlineTuesday that accounts and content linked with or promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory would be blocked or otherwise limited, with over 7,000 accounts already removed from the platform.
QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory turned online community based around message board posts by "Q," a user or several users purporting to be a "military insider," made since late 2017. The theory posits that Donald Trump is the secret leader of the fight against a "deep state," which works to protect a huge network of celebrities and public figures supposedly involved with devil worship, child sex trafficking, and the creation of a "New World Order." The cult-like community that has grown around the incoherent, constantly debunked conspiracy narrative believe a reckoning is coming where these public figures will be secretly or publicly arrested and/or executed (despite Q's more detailed predictions repeatedly failing to eventuate) and use a number of hashtags and code phrases to identify themselves as believers. The FBI considers QAnon to be a potential domestic terrorism threat.
Topics and phrases related to QAnon theories often trend in the U.S. and worldwide, pushing patently false and unhinged theories into wider distribution. Now, Twitter has had enough.
"We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm," Twitter posted on its official Safety account on Tuesday evening. "In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called ‘QAnon’ activity across the service."
The thread continues, saying Q-linked accounts that violate the platform's rules or "coordinate abuse" of individuals will be suspended permanently, that URLs linked to QAnon will be blocked, and that steps will be taken to limit the reach of its discussions via Trends and search.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
A Twitter spokesperson told NBC News that the move will affect over 150,000 accounts.
Twitter told Mashable that, effective Tuesday, human moderators and tools will be used in combination to de-amplify QAnon content, but denied that the new enforcement would result in user bans beyond violations of the existing rules.
Q believers do make it a little easier for moderators by including distinctive hashtags and phrases, including "WWG1WGA (Where We Go One, We Go All)," "Nothing can stop what is coming," and references to "The Storm" and "The Great Awakening" (i.e. the mass arrests or "victory" of Trump over the Satanist pedophile movie stars).
Screenshots leaked in the wake of last week's Twitter crypto scam hack showed an internal tool allegedly used to access the accounts of major public figures, including Trump's presumptive presidential opponent Joe Biden, which included a tag or button reading "Trends Blacklist." This sparked more outrage amongst Trump supporters, who are already convinced they are being "silenced" or shadow-banned on social media platforms, although Twitter has long been open about the fact that it does rank and filter trends and hashtags that violate its rules, in part specifically to counter "bad-faith actors who intend to manipulate or detract from healthy conversation."
SEE ALSO: Every platform that took action against Trump accounts and groups so farQAnon has also been targeted by Facebook with tighter moderation and bans, as well as being flooded with fancams thanks to the increasingly powerful coordination efforts of the K-pop stan community.
Given that QAnon followers already believe a secretive cabal that controls the world wants to silence Trump supporters and censor the internet, there's a chance they won't take this well.
UPDATE: July 22, 2020, 2:04 p.m. AEST This story has been updated to include clarification from Twitter in response to Mashable's request for comment.
The best fitness tech of 2022Apple Watch's swipe to switch face: How to enable itNYT's The Mini crossword answers for November 15What is sploshing? Inside the TikTok fetish content featuring messy foodThe Competing, Indignant Voices in “Rights”Best streaming device deals: Save up to 40% at AmazonBest streaming device deals: Save up to 40% at AmazonThe 4 best Amazon Prime inviteTeaching Them to Speak: On Juan Pablo Bonet and the History of OralismHelp! My Friend Is a Vaper: Advice from ‘The Paris Review’Meeting Sam Shepard at a Friend’s House on Eighth AvenueSatellites Are Spinning: Notes on a Sun Ra PoemPerfect your Instagram Reels algorithm with these simple rulesHow to do a digital 'detox'Paleoart: Visions of a Prehistoric PastHumane Ai Pin updated its video after featuring incorrect answersPhoto dumps are the no makeupWordle today: The answer and hints for November 16The Enduring, Gloriously Déclassé Style of Barbara WindsorWhat Insanity Is This, Dr. Euclides? Panama vs. Jamaica 2025 livestream: Watch Concacaf Gold Cup for free Beyoncé is embarrassed by her mom's social media presence, too Facebook is rolling out yet another Stories feature — this time on your News Feed Donald Trump is killing Meals on Wheels and it's a serious problem The internet is not impressed with Barack Obama's March Madness bracket You can help a second grade class learn about graphs by taking this cute survey Intense video shows python swallowing a hyena whole Kendall Jenner loses thousands of dollars in jewelry in alleged robbery The Fleshlight Launch is basically a giant robot hand you can hump When you marry a sheriff, you don't get invited to the wedding. You get summoned. Samsung's fancy Galaxy Tab S3 costs just as much as an iPad Pro, but it comes with the S Put a lock screen on your phone, sheeple! Pornhub plowed city streets because why not Author tweets about whitewashed book cover, and sparks discussion on representation Adorable social media robot dog looks like Zuckerberg's pup, natch Dear Twitter: Please verify me. Love, Julian Assange. McDonald's debuts mobile app so you can order all the Big Macs you can eat This is what you get when a member of The Shins makes a photo app Celebrities help give a voice to Syrian children affected by civil war Turns out the 'Game of Thrones' writers are just as evil IRL as they are on the show
2.0171s , 10133.59375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch Vidocq Online】,Defense Information Network