San Francisco (AFP)

Twitter has deleted more than 7,000 accounts linked to the "QAnon" movement and has undertaken to limit the circulation of content linked to this American conspiracy theory, propagated by fans of Donald Trump.

"This week we are taking more action against so-called + QAnon + activity," the network announced Tuesday via its dedicated security account, in the name of its policy on "behaviors with the potential to cause harm in real life ".

QAnon points to a pro-Trump movement, which spreads conspiracy theories online. According to its followers, the United States has been ruled for decades by a criminal organization involving the Clintons, Obamas, Rothschilds, powerful investor George Soros, Hollywood stars and other members of the world elite.

Twitter now sees the movement as a "coordinated effort to harm". According to a spokesperson, the platform decided to act now because its followers are causing more and more harm.

The most problematic accounts were recently "permanently suspended", Twitter reported. These include those considered guilty of coordinated and targeted harassment, when several accounts target a victim, a phenomenon "which has grown in recent weeks".

The global network will curb the spread of conspiracy theories by ensuring that accounts and associated content are not, or less, recommended by its algorithms.

About 150,000 accounts are expected to be affected by these measures, according to the spokesperson.

This decision comes as Facebook is under the blow of an unprecedented advertising boycott, followed by more than 1,000 advertisers and orchestrated by civil society associations, to force the Californian giant to better regulate messages promoting hatred or disinformation. .

Among these problematic content, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) cited at the end of June videos from the QAnon movement, "which draws on anti-Semitic hatred and rhetoric".

Followers of the movement sometimes appear in meetings of Donald Trump.

They claim that "Q" or "QAnon" is a mole in the inner circle of the president, who has decided to reveal tidbits of information about the global plot on forums of the "dark web", a hidden part of the internet.

They believe Donald Trump will end the plot and return power to the people.

© 2020 AFP