EXCLUSIVE: Documents from an internal Facebook investigation into Qanon show, for the first time, the massive scale of the conspiracy theory's community on the platform. We're talking thousands of groups, millions of members. From me and @ArijitDSen
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/qanon-groups-have-millions-members-facebook-documents-show-n1236317
Aug. 10, 2020, 4:12 PM EDT
By Ari Sen and Brandy Zadrozny
An internal investigation by Facebook has uncovered thousands of groups and pages, with millions of members and followers, that support the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to internal company documents reviewed by NBC News.
The investigation’s preliminary results, which were provided to NBC News by a Facebook employee, shed new light on the scope of activity and content from the QAnon community on Facebook, a scale previously undisclosed by Facebook and unreported by the news media, because most of the groups are private.
The top 10 groups identified in the investigation collectively contain more than 1 million members, with totals from more top groups and pages pushing the number of members and followers past 3 million. It is not clear how much overlap there is among the groups.
The investigation will likely inform what, if any, action Facebook decides to take against its QAnon community, according to the documents and two current Facebook employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The company is considering an option similar to its handling of anti-vaccination content, which is to reject advertising and exclude QAnon groups and pages from search results and recommendations, an action that would reduce the community’s visibility.
An announcement about Facebook’s ultimate decision is also expected to target members of “militias and other violent social movements,” according to the documents and Facebook employees.
https://twitter.com/BrandyZadrozny/status/1292918538198450177
Donald Trump said that if he’s re-elected, he’ll defund Social Security.
We can't let that happen.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1292924430272921606
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1292926000855166977
Bristol Bay is no place for a mine — our administration decided that in 2014. We're only discussing it today because Donald Trump's EPA reversed course hours after a closed-door meeting with the mining company's CEO.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1292928711243771911
FEC Commissioner: 'Substantial Chance' We Won't Know Winner On Election Night
This confirms many Americans’ fears about mail-in ballots: the winner likely won’t be declared on election night — and she said “this is okay” that we may have delayed results.
https://twitter.com/SaraCarterDC/status/1292928906882945025