The NBC article is the same as the Newshub, New Zealand article posted yesterday. (1) I submit that this is the version of events that the MSM will establish as their narrative – the baseline, if you will.
A new battle is shaping up and, while I don’t intend to follow or report on it closely, the opening moments are often definitive.
This battle is beginning as you might expect.
Yesterday, Twitter fired the opening shot.
It banned Q Anon.
The initiative will then pass to the Trump and Q Team, for their response.
I anticipate Twitter’s action being followed by similar actions from Google, Instagram, Youtube, etc. I can’t see this being a one-off action.
I expect that Wikipedia had a well-referenced story up on the subject within an hour of Twitter announcing it.
I hope someone does a search of Sinclair news broadcasts on Q Anon tonight because America should see what a concerted effort is being made to propagandize them.
Back to Twitter: After watching so many false flags (or conspiracy theories, depending on your point of view), I surmise that NBC’s story on the action reflects the playbook of the the MSM’s deep-state handlers.
Banning Q Anon and its followers from social media is as potentially-damaging an action as any I can think of – especially a few months before the November election. I imagine this is a taste of what we can expect in the months ahead.
We’ve joined the play halfway through the game. Barr and Durham are doing their work; deep bunkers are being demolished; children are being rescued; celebrities and key players are facing arrests. The action has already been joined. It can’t be hidden.
I’m sure that this was a moment eagerly anticipated by the Trump Team (see “Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship,”
This should also give fresh impetus to efforts to create an alternative, humanitarian, and libertarian Internet.
Thanks to Brian.
Footnotes
(1) “Twitter Cracking Down on Q,”
Twitter bans 7,000 QAnon accounts, limits 150,000 others as part of broad crackdown
The company will classify QAnon as coordinated harmful activity in part because of a rise in harassment targeting high-profile critics of the president.
Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News, July 21, 2020
(https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/twitter-bans-7-000-qanon-accounts-limits-150-000-others-n1234541)
Twitter announced Tuesday that it has begun taking sweeping actions to limit the reach of QAnon content, banning many of the conspiracy theory’s followers because of problems with harassment and misinformation.
Twitter will stop recommending accounts and content related to QAnon, including material in email and follow recommendations, and it will take steps to limit circulation of content in features like trends and search. The action will affect about 150,000 accounts, said a spokesperson, who asked to remain unnamed because of concerns about the targeted harassment of social media employees.
The Twitter spokesperson also said the company had taken down more than 7,000 QAnon accounts in the last couple weeks for breaking its rules against platform manipulation, spam or ban evasion.
The sweeping enforcement action will ban QAnon-related terms from appearing in trending topics and the platform’s search feature, ban known QAnon-related URLs and prohibit “swarming” of people who are baselessly targeted by coordinated harassment campaigns pushed by QAnon followers.
The spokesperson said that while the targeted enforcement fell under Twitter’s existing platform manipulation rules, its classification of QAnon material and behavior as coordinated harmful activity was a new designation. The spokesperson said Twitter was acting now because of rising harm associated with the conspiracy theory.
Twitter plans to permanently ban accounts that violate policies around platform manipulation, evasion of bans and operation of multiple accounts, behaviors commonly used by QAnon accounts, the spokesperson said. Twitter began blocking QAnon websites last week, and it will continue to block the distribution of QAnon-related URLs, the spokesperson said.
QAnon is a right-wing conspiracy theory that centers on the baseless belief that an anonymous tipster is revealing how President Donald Trump is leading a secret war against a so-called deep state — a collection of political, business and Hollywood elites who, according to the theory, worship Satan and abuse and murder children. The conspiracy theory’s roots grew from Pizzagate, which claimed that Hillary Clinton ran a pedophilia ring from a Washington, D.C., pizza shop.
Michael Flynn apparently takes QAnon oath on Independence Day, July 6, 202002:03
QAnon emerged from the fringes of the internet’s conspiracy community to become a recognized political phenomenon, with Trump supporters showing up at events with “Q” merchandise. QAnon followers have also been implicated in armed standoffs, attempted kidnappings, harassment and at least one killing since the conspiracy theory first gained traction on the internet in October 2017.
Last year, the FBI designated QAnon as a potential domestic terrorist threat. The FBI’s report on QAnon’s ties to dangerous real-world activities led in part to Twitter’s decision, a spokesperson said.
Despite no evidence and numerous predictions that failed to materialize, QAnon support has trickled into the mainstream, with numerous Republican candidates for Congress openly espousing their support.
CBS News
(https://www.cbsnews.com/news/qanon-conspiracy-twitter-bans-accounts-crackdown/)
Twitter unveiled a series of actions to limit the impact of QAnon-related content on its platform on Tuesday. The company said in a statement that it is taking action in an effort to “protect the public conversation in the face of evolving threats.”
The company said it will “no longer serve content and accounts associated with QAnon in Trends and recommendations” and is going to block URLs associated with QAnon from being shared on the platform. They will also no longer highlight QAnon activity in search, conversations, or trends.
Those who believe in the QAnon conspiracy theory claim that President Trump will soon expose a group of globalists and celebrities that has been covertly running America. They say they learned this information from “Q,” an anonymous, high-ranking official in the Trump administration. QAnon believers say many of the world’s issues are tied back to the “deep-state,” including JFK’s assassination and and ISIS, and that many presidents, excluding Mr. Trump, are part of the alleged collusion.
The FBI designated the group as a potential domestic extremist group last year.
Daily Mail
(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8547115/Twitter-BANS-7-000-QAnon-accounts-limits-ability-150-000-post-amid-new-crackdown.html)
- Twitter launched a crackdown on far-right conspiracy theory group QAnon on Tuesday night
- They announced that 7,000 accounts had already been suspended
- The QAnon accounts violated the company’s rules, Twitter said
- The company added a further 150,000 accounts could be impacted in harsh new measures rolled out this week
- QAnon terms will no longer appear in trending topics or in search functions
- URLs associated with the group will be blocked from being shared
- The company said it is acting following problems with misinformation and harassment from the fringe group that it believes could lead to offline harm
Twitter announced Tuesday it would permanently suspend accounts that violate its policies while tweeting about QAnon, as it pushes through harsh measures to limit the spread of content about the conspiracy theory.
The company said it is acting following problems with misinformation and harassment from the fringe group that claims ‘deep-state’ traitors are plotting against President Donald Trump.
In the last several weeks, Twitter said it has removed more than 7,000 QAnon accounts for violating the company’s rules against targeted harassment, spam, platform manipulation and ban evasion.
However, the new policies on account suspension are expected to impact about 150,000 QAnon accounts globally, they added.