OAKLAND, Calif. -- Twitter has removed thousands of accounts that spread messages about the conspiracy theories known as QAnon, saying their messages could lead to harm and violated Twitter policy.
Twitter said late Tuesday that it also would block trends related to the loose network of QAnon conspiracy theories from appearing in its trending topics and search, as well as blocking URLs associated with it from being posted on the platform. Twitter also said that it would stop highlighting and recommending tweets associated with QAnon.
"We've been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm," the company said in a tweet late Tuesday.
It was the first time a social media service has taken sweeping action to remove content affiliated with QAnon, which has become increasingly popular on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Facebook is preparing to take similar steps to limit the reach of QAnon content on its platform, said two Facebook employees with knowledge of the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The company has been coordinating with Twitter and other social media companies and plans to make an announcement next month, the employees said. Facebook declined to comment.
'Q' FOLLOWERS
The QAnon conspiracy theory is centered on the belief that President Donald Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the "deep state" and a child-sex trafficking ring run by satanic pedophiles and cannibals. For more than two years, followers have pored over tangled clues purportedly posted online by a high-ranking government official known only as "Q."
"Q" claims to have access to government secrets that reveal a plot against Trump and his supporters. That supposedly classified information was initially posted on message boards before spreading to mainstream internet platforms and has led to significant online harassment as well as physical violence.
Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts and its followers show up at his rallies wearing clothes and hats with QAnon symbols and slogans.
"QAnon is not conventional political discourse," Alice Marwick, an associate professor of communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It's a conspiracy theory that makes wild claims and baseless accusations about political actors and innocent people alike."
Over several weeks, Twitter has removed 7,000 accounts that posted QAnon material, a company spokeswoman said. The accounts had been increasingly active and had been involved in coordinated harassment campaigns on Twitter or tried to evade a previous suspension by setting up new accounts after an old account was deleted.
An additional 150,000 accounts will be hidden from trends and search on Twitter, the spokeswoman added. The takedowns were reported earlier by NBC News.
"These accounts amplify and enable networked harassment on a level that's clearly against the Twitter terms of service," Marwick said. "But this won't stop QAnon from operating. It's multiplatform and really good at adapting as media ecosystems change."
In May, Facebook removed a cluster of five pages, 20 Facebook accounts and six groups affiliated with QAnon, saying they had violated its policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior.
CONSERVATIVE FOES, HACKERS
Since it became a venue for disinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Twitter has cracked down on content that spreads false information or encourages harassment. In February, it introduced a ban against manipulated photos and videos, a popular method of tricking viewers and spreading disinformation. And in May, it began labeling some of Trump's tweets, saying they contained false information or promoted violence.
Twitter's aggressive enforcement actions have put it on a collision course with Trump, who has said that Twitter is unfairly silencing conservative voices and has encouraged regulators to crack down on the service. While the QAnon ban was applauded in many circles, some conservatives said Twitter's move was further evidence that the company unevenly enforced its rules against Trump's supporters.
The political attention has added to Twitter's headaches. A wide-ranging hack last week compromised the Twitter accounts of Democratic political figures, including former Vice President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama. Twitter also faces concerns that advertisers are tightening spending during the coronavirus pandemic. It is expected to report its second-quarter earnings this week.
More than two years after QAnon emerged on the internet, supporters of the movement, which the FBI has labeled a potential domestic terrorism threat, are trickling into the mainstream of the Republican Party. Precisely how many candidates, mostly Republicans, are running under the QAnon banner is unclear. Some estimates put the number at a dozen, and few are expected to win in November.
A number of the candidates have sought to spread a core tenet of the QAnon conspiracy: that Trump ran for office to save Americans from a so-called deep state filled with child-abusing, devil-worshipping bureaucrats. According to QAnon, backing the president's enemies are prominent Democrats who, in some telling, extract hormones from children's blood.
Information for this article was contributed by Kate Conger of The New York Times and by Zen Soo of The Associated Press.