Twitter suspends 70,000 accounts linked to pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy

The social network began its purge Friday, shortly after it had permanently suspended Trump's account for language that could incite violence.
A sanitation worker passes Twitter headquarters on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in San Francisco. (Photo | AP)
A sanitation worker passes Twitter headquarters on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in San Francisco. (Photo | AP)

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter announced Monday it has suspended "more than 70,000 accounts" linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory following the attack on the US Capitol by a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters.

The social network began its purge Friday, shortly after it had permanently suspended Trump's account for language that could incite violence.

"Since Friday, more than 70,000 accounts have been suspended as a result of our efforts, with many instances of a single individual operating numerous accounts," Twitter said in a blog post.

"These accounts were engaged in sharing harmful QAnon-associated content at scale and were primarily dedicated to the propagation of this conspiracy theory across the service."

The far-right QAnon conspiracy theory claims Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

Most major social media platforms have taken unprecedented action since Trump's supporters invaded the Capitol Wednesday to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidential win, shocking the US and tarnishing its international image.

Facebook and Twitter have both indefinitely suspended the accounts for Trump, who has refused to accept the result of the November 3 election and spread baseless theories that the vote was rigged.

Both platforms referred to the risk of future violence, particularly before Biden's inauguration on January 20.

Twitter said it also factored in that plans for more armed protests have been proliferating on and off the service, including a proposed second attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17.

The social network was Trump's preferred megaphone, and his account had 88 million subscribers when it was suspended.

A planned protest outside Twitter's San Francisco headquarters against the social media platform's ban of Donald Trump fizzled out Monday when just a handful of the US president's supporters turned up.

Messages posted this weekend on popular far-right forum TheDonald.win had called on pro-Trump activists to assemble outside the tech giant's offices, which are largely deserted as staff work from home due to the pandemic.

One user even urged participants to bring zip ties to "citizen arrest violent agitators," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Police deployed dozens of officers and constructed security barriers, but only a few protesters and counter-protesters arrived.

"I don't like being censored. And I feel conservative voices are being censored," one protester told the local Fox television station KTVU.

Kenneth Lundgreen, 71, told the Chronicle he wanted to "act as a counter balance" in case a crowd like the one that stormed the US Capitol in Washington, DC last week arrived.

Shortly after that unrest, Twitter imposed a permanent ban on Trump's account -- which had 88 million subscribers -- prompted by multiple violations of its rules and the risk of "further incitement of violence." 

Trump accused the company of conspiring with the "Radical Left," while some international leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called the ban "problematic."

Other platforms including Facebook and Snapchat also have suspended Trump.

US Democrats have launched the process of impeaching Trump for a historic second time for "incitement of insurrection" over the attack on the Capitol, in which five people died.

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