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Facebook Removes QAnon Conspiracy Group With 200,000 Members (bbc.com) 188

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Facebook has deleted a large group dedicated to sharing and discussing QAnon conspiracy theories. QAnon is a wide-ranging, unfounded conspiracy theory that a "deep state" network of powerful government, business and media figures are waging a secret war against Donald Trump. A Facebook spokeswoman said the group was removed for "repeatedly posting content that violated our policies." The deleted Facebook group, called Official Q/Qanon, had nearly 200,000 members. There are, however, many other QAnon groups that are currently still active on the platform. Reuters reports that Official Q/QAnon "crossed the line" on bullying, harassment, hate speech and the sharing of potentially harmful misinformation.
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Facebook Removes QAnon Conspiracy Group With 200,000 Members

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07, 2020 @10:35PM (#60379137)

    Facebook conspires against YOU.

  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday August 07, 2020 @10:39PM (#60379143)
    America's greatest news source has A convenient guide [theonion.com]
    • They look crazy and I don't like them as some are hardcore christians but why ban them? Supporting trump,believing that government is run by elite groups,believing that Christ is coming back tomorrow and other conspiracies is not hate speech and they should not be banned.
      • Re: In case anyone doesn't know of Qanon (Score:1)
        by BanHammer ( 5567450 ) on 08-08-20 3:48 (#60379723)
        They look crazy and I don't like them as some are hardcore christians but why ban them?

        "BanHammer" says "why ban them"... what a world.

        TFS has the answer to your question:

        Reuters reports [reuters.com] that Official Q/QAnon "crossed the line" on bullying, harassment, hate speech and the sharing of potentially harmful misinformation.

        HTH, HAND.

  • This will be no doubt as effective as trying to get rid of cockroaches by wiping down all the counters.

    • Keeping your kitchen clean is actually a pretty good start to getting rid of cockroaches. Your house is a disaster, isn't it?

    • Wait, who told you about the cockroaches?

    • You're right of course: wiping the counters won't get rid of cockroaches therefore there is no point in ever wiping the counters.

      On an unrelated note, it turns out I need to wash my cat so I must respectfully decline your dinner invitation.

      • I suspect the point was more "See? We've wiped down the counters! No need to check into whether we've swept or mopped anything, or wiped down anything else..."
        The cockroaches will check anyway.
  • by JfTbUwZbCa2T ( 6721572 ) on Friday August 07, 2020 @11:15PM (#60379209)

    Reuters reports that Official Q/QAnon "crossed the line" on bullying, harassment, hate speech and the sharing of potentially harmful misinformation.

    No, Reuters didn't report anything of the sort. Reuters reported that's what a Facebook spokeswoman told them.

    • No, Reuters didn't report anything of the sort. Reuters reported that's what a Facebook spokeswoman told them.

      A distinction without a difference. It's Facebook's platform and Facebook's decision where the line is. So if Facebook says they crossed the line, even without telling you where that line was it still is accurate to say "Reuters reports that Official Q/QAnon "crossed the line""

      • >"A distinction without a difference."

        That is simply not true. His is a PERFECT example of one of many ways how "news" becomes more inaccurate. Such mistakes make it sound like there are more sources, when there are none. And this wasn't even a mistake made by a news outlet, it is just a posting on Slashdot. Quoting someone quoting someone else becomes interpreted as two interviews or two sources when it is not. It is also "hearsay." Someone might now point to the Slashdot post and spread it on the

        • That is simply not true. His is a PERFECT example of one of many ways how "news" becomes more inaccurate.

          Except it's not. QAnon crossed some line defined by Facebook or they wouldn't have banned it. What that line was is something you want to evaluate for yourself and delve deeper into, but that doesn't change anything about the statement. It is not a mistake to say Reuters reported because that's precisely what they did. They spoke to Facebook, Facebook said they crossed a line, Reuters reported.

          It really is that simple regardless of your or the GP's contrived assertions to the contrary.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Qanon won't be the last. If people haven't realised this yet there's truly no hope.

      It doesn't matter if you believe it or not... Facebook will decide what is and isn't true.

      The establishment long ago got control over the mainstream media. Now they are getting control over social media.

      You will only see the establishment line.

      Again, for the hard of thinking, it doesn't matter if you think Qanon is bonkers nonsense. This is about principles of free speech.

      If you're too stupid to grasp that and all you can thi

  • by i'm probably drunk ( 6159770 ) on Saturday August 08, 2020 @02:33AM (#60379483)

    Don't build anything on Facebook.

    • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Saturday August 08, 2020 @03:14AM (#60379533)

      More like, don't trust anything you read on Facebook. If you use Facebook as your news source, you're basically the guy that takes The Onion serious.

      • >"More like, don't trust anything you read on Facebook"

        Really, one should be wary of anything read from anywhere. No conspiracy implied (although there might be some). It is good to question everything (motives, the info itself, its wording and interpretation, its meaning), gather multiple ORIGINAL sources (not just places quoting other places), and be open to alternative information and interpretations.

      • Facebook is not a news source, but people do repeat news there. You can clicky on the linky to read the story... In these regards it is exactly as valid as Slashdot as a news source. And let's face it, who among us doesn't occasionally find out about something here?

      • More like, don't trust anything you read on Facebook. If you use Facebook as your news source, you're basically the guy that takes The Onion serious.

        Well, yeah. But who is it conferring legitimacy here? Mainstream news organizations treat things said on Facebook as news. Government dweebs and private mobs want to censor and regulate it.

        Conservatives like me think FB is a glorified multi-user blog.

  • by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 ) on Saturday August 08, 2020 @06:06AM (#60379751)
    ...OK, we'll all come clean. We admit it. We're all in on the conspiracy. Every last one of us except for you lot. We've already been inoculated against Bill Gates mind control "vaccine" & the 5G mind control rays so they'll have no effect on us, only you. We're shutting you down, taking over your minds, & there's nothing you can do about it. We know who you are. You can't hide from us. The only safe places left are in Trump buildings because they're shielded with gold. You have to take them over & set up perimeter defences, stock up on supplies, & dig in for the long-haul. Bring lots of guns & explosives. Oh, & stop taking the "medications" your doctors have been prescribing to you. They only serve to confuse you & stop you from thinking clearly. God bless you & good luck!
  • We have a 1999 Blue Bird Q-Bus which, time permitting, I am converting into an RV. (I got kind of sidetracked becoming an RV repair technician, a job I got just before Covid hit. But at least I'm learning the best way to do everything. To wit, mostly not how the big boys do it.) And occasionally when I mention that I get some QAnon lackwit all excited about the Q in Q-Bus. Then I have to explain that no, I am not a dipshit.

  • When you're the de facto "Town Hall" you've got to uphold the right for all viewpoints, not just the ones that agree with The Narrative.
    • When you're the de facto "Town Hall" you've got to uphold the right for all viewpoints, not just the ones that agree with The Narrative.

      Okay, what does that have to do with Facebook? "Town Halls" still exist, in town. For everyone else, there is the wider internet. Discussions go on all over it. Most Facebook posts are viewed only by their respective echo chambers.

    • by DogDude ( 805747 )
      Go try to scream about aliens and the Illuminati and pedophiles in secret pizza basements in a real town hall. Go ahead and try it. I'll wait.
  • Pretty soon there won't be any entertainment on Facebook anymore. Just ads for home catheter delivery and cures for COVID-19
  • As defined by FB. Not the most trustworthy of corps.
  • Censoring a conspiracy person or group is the absolutely worst thing you can possibly do if you are not trying to encourage it/them!

    The QAnon crap is all based around the idea of a big shadowy conspiracy between "deep state" operatives within the government and globalist billionairs, many of them tech giants. The worst thing you could do is to have those billionaire tech giant globalists use their power to muzzle these folks.

    The only thing I can think of is that Zuckerberg had made himself such a group-th

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