A number of the candidates have sought to spread a core tenet of the QAnon conspiracy: that Mr. Trump ran for office to save Americans from a so-called deep state filled with child-abusing, devil-worshiping bureaucrats. According to QAnon, backing the president’s enemies are prominent Democrats who, in some telling, extract hormones from children’s blood.
The president has repeatedly retweeted QAnon supporters and cheered on candidates who openly support the conspiracy theory, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican House candidate in Georgia.
“A big winner. Congratulations!” Mr. Trump tweeted after Ms. Greene, whose ads have been banned by Facebook for violating its terms of service, placed first in her primary.
Some QAnon followers have diverted their attention from political causes. Recent QAnon campaigns on Twitter have focused on Wayfair, a furniture and décor company, and Chrissy Teigen, a model and cookbook author who recently said she had blocked one million accounts affiliated with QAnon. She called on Twitter to take action after she became a target of harassment.
QAnon theories share similar themes with Pizzagate, a conspiracy theory popularized ahead of the 2016 presidential election that advanced the baseless notion that the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and party elites were running a child sex-trafficking ring out of a Washington pizzeria. In December 2016, a vigilante gunman showed up at the restaurant with an assault rifle and opened fire into a closet, and social media companies fear that they could be linked to similar incidents if they allow conspiracy theories to thrive on their platforms.
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube managed to largely suppress that Pizzagate conspiracy theory, but as the presidential election nears it has appeared to rebound on those platforms and newer ones, like TikTok.
Reporting was contributed by Sheera Frenkel, Matthew Rosenberg, Jennifer Steinhauer and Kevin Roose.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/technology/twitter-bans-qanon-accounts.html
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