YouTube is the latest social media platform to start a fight against the spread of QAnon conspiracy theories .
The company said it would ban the reproduction of material that targets an individual or group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify violence, such as QAnon. Facebook and Twitter have banned QAnon from their platforms.
The QAnon movement claims that US President Donald Trump is fighting a group of pedophiles who worship Satan.
The FBI issued a warning last year about “domestic extremists based on conspiracy theories” and designated QAnon as a potential domestic extremist threat.
The announcement of YouTube
YouTube announced that it had “removed tens of thousands of QAnon videos and suspended hundreds of channels” in accordance with existing content rules.
However the social networking platform said it was necessary to take «one more step to curb hate and harassment.»
«Today we are further expanding the policies regarding hate and harassment to prohibit content that targets an individual or a group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify violence in the real world», he said.
YouTube's new rules come three years after QAnon first emerged. The movement has been linked to a number of false claims that have spread online ,with unfounded accusations often directed at Democrats.
President Trump has used Twitter feed to promote unfounded claims promoted by accounts associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory.
During a televised town hall meeting with voters on Thursday, the president was asked about the conspiracy theory and replied: “I don’t know anything about QAnon. I just know that it is strongly opposed to pedophilia, they fight it very hard.”
Supporters of President Trump have been seen holding flags and wearing shirts that bear the QAnon symbol at gatherings before the presidential election on November 3.
QAnon is a broad unfounded conspiracy theory that claims President Trump is fighting an illegal network of politicians, businessmen and the elite in general, which often includes satanic conspiracies and child trafficking.
QAnon started in October 2017 on 4chan. An anonymous user left a series of posts on 4chan claiming to be involved in a secret research group led by President Trump.
They claimed to have top security access to the US, known as “Q clearance” – hence the name QAnon. This user’s messages became known as “Q drops” or “breadcrumbs”, often written in encrypted language with pro-Trump slogans, promises and themes.
Source: BBC
