Breaking: Facebook Removes 100's of QAnon Group Accounts

Facebook Removes Accounts (Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior).

Facebook is known for transparency and protecting users from bad actors. May 5, 2020 – Facebook says it has removed several groups, accounts, and pages linked to a non-conspiracy theory for violating the same rules against fake personas and inauthentic behavior used by government influence operations.

Facebook said on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, that on April 2020 we removed eight networks of accounts, Pages, and Groups. Two of them — from Russia and Iran — focused internationally (FGI), and the remaining six — in the US, Georgia, Myanmar, and Mauritania — targeted domestic audiences in their respective countries (CIB) Coordinated inauthentic behavior. Facebook further added that we have shared this information with law enforcement and policymakers.

Facebook says it found the QAnon activity as part of its investigations into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Sample post by group (Image credit Facebook).

Who is QAnon?

QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged “deep state” against U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters. The theory began with an October 2017 post on the anonymous imageboard 4chan by someone using the name Q, a presumably Americanindividual, but probably later a group of people, claiming to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States.

April 2020 Summary of Facebook Operations

Facebook removes account statistics:

Total number of Facebook accounts removed = 732

Total Instagram accounts removed = 162

Total Pages removed = 793

Total Groups removed = 200

NETWORKS REMOVED IN APRIL 2020:

From Russia’s 46 Pages, 91 accounts, 2 groups, and 1 Instagram account removed, according to an investigation Facebook found this activity was linked to individuals in Russia, the Donbas region in Ukraine, and two media organizations in Crimea — NewsFront and SouthFront.
From Iran 118 Pages, 389, 27 groups, and 6 Instagram accounts were removed. According to a Facebook investigation, this activity is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation.
5 Pages from the US and 20 Facebook accounts and 6 groups were removed.
In another operation 19 Pages, 15 Facebook accounts & 1 group from the US were removed. According to a Facebook investigation, this activity was linked to VDARE, a website known for posting anti-immigration content, and individuals associated with a similar website, The UX Review.
From Mauritania 11 Pages, 75 Facebook, and 90 Instagram account’s removed.
In Myanmar, Facebook removed 3 Pages, 18 Facebook accounts, and 1 Group. The domestic-focused network originated in Myanmar, and according to a Facebook investigation, this activity was linked to members of the Myanmar Police Force.
From Georgia Facebook removed 511 Pages, 101 Facebook, and 122 Groups, and 56
Instagram account. The Facebook investigation linked this network to Espersona, a media firm in Georgia. This
The organization is now permanently banned from Facebook.
From Georgia Facebook removed 23 Facebook, 80 Pages, 41 Groups, and 9 Instagram accounts. This domestic-focused activity originated in Georgia. The Facebook investigation linked this network to individuals associated with the United National Movement, a political party.