Twitter Qracks down on QAnon and its Qooky Qonspiracies
- Reference: 1595402892
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/07/22/twitter_qanon_crackdown/
- Source link:
The avian network made its medium the message, as follows:
We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called ‘QAnon’ activity across the service. — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) [1]July 22, 2020
We will permanently suspend accounts Tweeting about these topics that we know are engaged in violations of our multi-account policy, coordinating abuse around individual victims, or are attempting to evade a previous suspension — something we’ve seen more of in recent weeks. — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) [2]July 22, 2020
In addition, we will:
1⃣ No longer serve content and accounts associated with QAnon in Trends and recommendations
2⃣ Work to ensure we’re not highlighting this activity in search and conversations
3⃣ Block URLs associated with QAnon from being shared on Twitter — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) [3]July 22, 2020
The company added that the Q-busting action will start this week and that it will "continue to review this activity across our service and update our rules and enforcement approach again if necessary."
The last tweet in the thread offered an unusually plain-spoken view of how Twitter sees its role.
As we work at scale to protect the public conversation in the face of evolving threats, we’ll continue to lead with transparency and offer more context on our efforts. — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) [4]July 22, 2020
The Register understands that Twitter is the first major social network to take action on QAnon, but of course also hosts much uncivil commentary including strident racism, hyper-partisan content, conspiracy theories and – unlike other social networks – happily hosts adult entertainers and their video content.
Twitter hackers busted 2FA to access accounts and then reset user passwords [5]READ MORE
However, none of those contentious uses of the network have been rated a domestic terrorism risk, an assessment the US FBI [6]applied to QAnon in 2019.
Twitter has also arguably led the social media pack by refusing to take political advertising and [7]fact-checking Donald Trump's Tweets.
But its action on QAnon may be too little, too late. Trump has previously shared Q content on his Twitter feed, and the Republican Party he leads has endorsed candidates that openly espouse QAnon theories. ®
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[1] https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1285726277719199746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[2] https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1285726278868402177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[3] https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1285726279828897795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[4] https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1285726281825423361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/20/twitter_security_update_hackers_broke_2fa/
[6] https://news.yahoo.com/fbi-documents-conspiracy-theories-terrorism-160000507.html
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/27/twitter_fact_checks_trump_tweets/
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Wait what?
What do you expect? The purpose of being in power is to be in power, not to *do* anything.
Re: Wait what?
DoubleThink and DoubleSpeak are a central part of the US Republican party's disinformation tradecraft today. Quite a lot of their statements and positions are at direct odds with their actual acts and history.
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
WAR IS PEACE
Re: Wait what?
They don't actually believe it, silly. They are just pandering for the votes of the idiots who do believe it.
Re: Wait what?
They are just pandering for the votes of the idiots who do believe it.
To be fair, what can you really expect from a population where, at the last count, 40% of them are so blinkered* / stupid* / uneducated* that they believe in creationism...
*delete as appropriate
Democracy in the USA
Is to McDonalds in fine dining.
I can't help thinking that the best way to deal with things like this is to take advantage of the fact that those who believe conspiracy theories are both paranoid and gullible. Don't try to explain there is no deep state. Accept they believe it exists and play on that by launching counter conspiracy theories along the generic lines of $CONSPIRACY_THEORY is a lie propagated by the deep state to distract you from $WHATEVER_ELSE_THEY_CAN_BE_PERSUADED_TO_FEAR
Cynical? Moi?
I thought about trying that.
But then, taking the concept to it's illogical conclusion, I realized that they might wind up voting for me and I don't want that job.
(Before you poo-poo the above, consider that a bad SciFi author once made a bar-bet that he could start his own religion ...)
$CONSPIRACY_THEORY is a lie propagated by the deep state to distract you from $WHATEVER_ELSE_THEY_CAN_BE_PERSUADED_TO_FEAR
That doesn't work, and would readily be accepted as truth, because it still confirms that deep state is evil. It doesn't matter what the allegations are, even if utterly contradictory, so long as it furthers the deep state is evil narrative. You've only added to the conspiracy.
You need something to turn it on its head; something which suggests deep state is simply an invention or a scapegoat, by way of some distraction or other. But deep state would claim that, wouldn't they?
It's insidious.
bizarre conspiracy theory?
"cabal of deep-state Satanist paedophiles that secretly runs the world."
In light of recent events I struggle to see how this is still considered a conspiracy theory.
Juvenal called?
So mass appeasement has gone from "panem et circenses" - let them have bread and circuses - to "Let them have Twitter and twats"
We're screwed.
Re: Juvenal called?
It's cheaper this way. And easier on the lions...
I had heard the name Qanon but never really paid it any attention and know almost nothing of what passes on Twatter.
Having just read a few articles on the subject to bring myself somewhere near to speed on it, I suspect the whole thing is a psyops manoeuvre by Pompeo to get the pseudoreligeous loonies to vote for Trump.
Wait what?
"... the Republican party he leads has endorsed candidates that openly espouse QAnon theories."
So the Party that has held the majority in both houses of Congress for the vast majority of the last 26 years (20 out of the last 26 years in the the house of representatives, and 18 out of the last 26 years in the senate) and controlled the Presidency for half of that time. Additionally, during that 26 years, the republicans had control of all 3 of the presidency, house of representatives and congress for 8 years (Democrats had that full control for only 2 years in that 26 year period), and yet they believe that there is a deep state that controls the world? And they believe that they're not the ones in charge???
If they truly believe that, then what the hell have they been doing throughout all those years they were in power????