Twitter removes 70,000 accounts linked to the pro-Trump movement QAnon
Supporters of US President Donald Trump including Jake Angeli (center with fur hat), a famous QAnon activist, on January 6, 2021 in the Capitol in Washington.
AP - Manuel Balce Ceneta
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Twitter announced this Monday, January 11, to have "permanently suspended" 70,000 accounts affiliated with the pro-Trump movement QAnon since Friday, to prevent them from using the social network for violent purposes as for the riots in Washington last week .
The platform undertook a purge that began Friday with the final blocking of the account of the US president, accused of having encouraged his supporters to disrupt the certification of the victory of Democrat Joe Biden by Congress.
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“
These accounts were sharing dangerous content associated with QAnon on a large scale.
They were basically devoted to spreading these conspiracy theories across the service,
”Twitter said in a statement.
The number of evicted accounts is high because many individuals had more than one.
Most major platforms have taken unprecedented action since supporters of the Republican billionaire invaded the Capitol for several hours on Wednesday, January 6, shocking the country and tarnishing its image internationally.
Facebook and Twitter, in particular, have
indefinitely suspended the account of Donald Trump
, who has not stopped for months discrediting the electoral process, and accusing Democrats without proof of having "
stolen the election
" from him. .
►
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"
Armed demonstrations
"
To justify their decision, the two networks made particular reference to the risk of future violence, by the inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden on January 20.
“
Plans for future armed demonstrations are proliferating on Twitter and elsewhere, including for a second attack on the Capitol on January 17, 2021,
” Twitter noted on Friday.
The tweet network was Donald Trump's primary communication tool, reaching his 88 million subscribers daily.
The decision of the social network was welcomed freshly, including by
some European leaders
like Angela Merkel, who considered this decision "
problematic
" because it shows the omnipotence of platforms in terms of freedom of expression.
QAnon is an extreme right-wing conspiracy movement.
Its followers defend the idea that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal sect made up of satanist pedophiles.
►
To listen: Should we cut off politicians who are freeing themselves from reality?
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