Facebook removes QAnon Pages and Groups for inauthentic behavior

Facebook announced on Tuesday that it had taken down a network of Pages, Groups, and accounts for coordinated inauthentic behaviour.

The social network has removed accounts numerous times over the past few years for inauthentic behavior, usually those linked to countries like Russia or Iran. However, this time around, there are a network of deleted Pages and Groups that stand out.

This latest batch of removals makes the first time Facebook has taken down accounts associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory.

“Our investigation linked this activity to individuals associated with the QAnon network known to spread fringe conspiracy theories,” says Facebook’s report released today. “We found this activity as part of our internal investigations into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior ahead of the 2020 election in the US.”

According to the social media giant, Facebook removed “removed 5 Pages, 20 Facebook accounts, and 6 Groups that originated in the US and focused domestically.”

A screenshot example of a cross-post that was shared among the now-removed QAnon Facebook Pages, along with the time-code showing how close together they were posted. Credit: Graphika

Some of the Pages and accounts taken down by Facebook had handles such as @RealTrumpQAnon, @RealQAnon41020, @QAnonTees, and @QAnonChosenOne according to a report diving further into these accounts by social media mapping and analysis firm Graphika.

According to the company, many of these Pages had coordinated cross-posting as well as overlapping Group administrators. The third-party report claims Facebook initiated the takedowns on April 17.

For those unfamiliar with QAnon, it is essentially a far-right conspiracy theory which contends that President Donald Trump is secretly at war with the “deep state” and a global satanic sex trafficking pedophile ring that includes even celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks.

These Pages and Groups mainly pushed these conspiracy theories along with merchandise such as t-shirts. The Graphika report also uncovered disinformation on other topics such as 5G, the 2020 US presidential election, and COVID-19.

“The network initially dismissed the ‘Chinese virus,’” explains the report’s analysis on the QAnon Pages’ coronavirus content. “Then shifted to urging users to wash their hands, and then shifted further to promoting remedies that had not been checked and false stories that had been.”

A screenshot of the TeeChip page selling the QAnon face mask that was being promoted by the now removed Facebook Pages. Credit:

One particular Facebook post sent through the network included a link to purchase a QAnon-themed face mask.

It’s important to note that Facebook did not remove any of the accounts, Pages, or Groups due to their content. Inauthentic behavior, according to Facebook, is defined as “fake engagement, spam and artificial amplification.”

Basically, the people running these Pages and Groups created multiple accounts against the company’s terms of service and attempted to evade detection so they could promote the content. They were banned for gaming Facebook’s platform.

Along with the QAnon removals, Facebook said it also removed 19 Pages, 15 Facebook accounts, and one Group connected to the far right, anti-immigrant website VDare for inauthentic behavior as well.

Outside the U.S., the company also removed hundreds of accounts, Pages, and Groups originating out of Russia, Iran, and Georgia. It also took down a network linked to the Myanmar Police Force for coordinated inauthentic behavior.