Twitter suspending thousands of accounts spreading QAnon conspiracy

The QAnon theory has ricocheted around the darker corners of the internet since late 2017.

Twitter announced Tuesday it is permanently suspending accounts spreading the QAnon conspiracy theory, saying it has the potential to lead to harm. The action means 7,000 accounts are being banned and 150,000 more will be impacted, NBC News reports.

“We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called ‘QAnon’ activity across the service,” Twitter said in a tweet.

In addition, we will:

1⃣ No longer serve content and accounts associated with QAnon in Trends and recommendations
2⃣ Work to ensure we’re not highlighting this activity in search and conversations
3⃣ Block URLs associated with QAnon from being shared on Twitter

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) July 22, 2020

The changes will be rolled out over the next week, Twitter said. 

President Donald Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts. Followers flock to Trump’s rallies wearing clothes and hats with QAnon symbols and slogans.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/twitter-suspends-qanon-accounts/507-a6e3d93f-d158-41b4-8634-04401d7750d4