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Twitter suspends thousands of accounts dedicated to sharing QAnon content

Twitter had said on Friday it would permanently suspend accounts pushing QAnon content, banning prominent right-wing boosters of its conspiracy theories.

Published on: Jan 12, 2021 08:21 AM IST
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Twitter Inc said it has suspended more than 70,000 accounts since Friday that were primarily dedicated to sharing QAnon content after last week's violence in Washington when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A Twitter logo is seen outside the company headquarters in San Francisco, California, US. (Reuters Photo) (REUTERS)
A Twitter logo is seen outside the company headquarters in San Francisco, California, US. (Reuters Photo) (REUTERS)

"Given the violent events in Washington, DC, and increased risk of harm, we began permanently suspending thousands of accounts that were primarily dedicated to sharing QAnon content on Friday afternoon", Twitter said in a blog late on Monday.

"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 company said.

QAnon backers have pushed conspiracies on social media that include the baseless claim that Trump secretly is fighting a cabal of child-sex predators, among them prominent Democrats, figures in Hollywood and "deep state" allies.

Twitter had said on Friday it would permanently suspend accounts pushing QAnon content, banning prominent right-wing boosters of its conspiracy theories.

Lawmakers were forced to flee, as the building was mobbed by the president's supporters who overwhelmed security forces. Five people died in the violence including one Capitol Police officer who was beaten as he tried to ward off the crowds.

 
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Get the latest headlines from US news and global updates from Pakistan, Nepal, UK, Bangladesh, Russia and US Iran war Live, get all the latest headlines in one place on Hindustan Times.
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