Facebook says it will now ban all pages supporting QAnon, the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory
An attendee at President Trump’s rally in Tampa, Florida holds a sign mentioning the conspiracy theory QAnon. Image by youtube
(JTA) — Months after beginning to remove QAnon content discussing violence, Facebook and Instagram are now removing all pages and accounts representing the pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theory with anti-Semitic overtones.
QAnon is a false but growing conspiracy theory that alleges that a cabal of liberal, globalist elites sexually abuses children and harvests their blood, and wants to take down Trump. It has been endorsed by Republican candidates for Congress, and Trump has declined to condemn it. Officials say that it is also influencing voters ahead of next month’s election.
Scholars of anti-Semitism say the conspiracy theory is a new version of age-old anti-Semitic stereotypes regarding Jewish conspiratorial control of world affairs. They also say it echoes the blood libel, the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory claiming that Jews use the blood of non-Jewish children for ritual purposes.
Facebook first took action against QAnon in August, when it began removing 1,500 QAnon pages and groups that discussed violence. Now, it will remove all QAnon content, even if it doesn’t explicitly refer to violence.
In August, before Facebook began taking action against QAnon, its affiliated groups had millions of members on Facebook, according to NBC. Its content is often created and spread by its adherents, which means that it has subsumed other conspiracy theories and expanded in scope as it has attracted more followers.
“While we’ve removed QAnon content that celebrates and supports violence, we’ve seen other QAnon content tied to different forms of real world harm,” Facebook said in a statement. “Additionally, QAnon messaging changes very quickly and we see networks of supporters build an audience with one message and then quickly pivot to another.”
The action by Facebook comes after a summer in which a coalition of civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, led an advertising boycott of Facebook to protest what they called its failure to adequately combat hate speech.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
