Facebook Removes Pro-Trump 'Stop the Steal' Election Group

Stop the Steal had topped 300,000 members by the time it was removed for violating Facebook policies.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 6 November 2020 10:12 IST

Facebook Removes Pro-Trump 'Stop the Steal' Election Group

Counter-protesters chant during a "Stop the Steal" protest by supporters of US President Donald Trump

Highlights

The group, called "Stop the Steal," had topped 3,00,000 members
Facebook took action as ballot counting continues in battleground states
Some of the commentary warned of being "on the verge of civil war"

Facebook on Thursday shut down a pro-Trump group organising protests against vote-counting, saying it was being used to delegitimise the election process and included "worrying" calls for violence.

The group, called "Stop the Steal," was just days old but had topped 3,00,000 members by the time it was removed for violating Facebook policies.

The social network acted as ballot counting continues in battleground states two days after Tuesday's vote, with Democrat Joe Biden still confident of capturing the presidency from incumbent Donald Trump.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

"In line with the exceptional measures that we are taking during this period of heightened tension, we have removed the Group 'Stop the Steal,' which was creating real-world events," Facebook said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"The group was organised around the delegitimisation of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group."

"Stop the Steal" was calling for "boots on the ground" to protect what it called the "integrity" of the vote, according to the Washington Post, and encouraging donations to help send supporters to battlegrounds such as Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Twitter, Facebook Fail to Corral Trump's Misinformation About US Vote Count

Some of the commentary warned of being "on the verge of civil war" and asked supporters how they would go about "overthrowing the government," the Post reported.

Since Election Day the president has fired off tweets calling for ballot counting to be stopped, and contended without proof there has been voter fraud.

But his tweets have been masked with notices telling people the claims are misleading.

Facebook and Twitter have been scrambling to prevent the platforms from being used to spread false claims regarding the integrity of voting or ballot counting.

The platforms have pledged stepped-up scrutiny of false election information, including premature claims of victory, seeking to avoid a repeat of 2016 manipulation efforts.

Separately, Facebook said it implemented its policy banning political ads after the close of polls.

A Facebook spokesperson said the goal was "reducing the chance for confusion or abuse" and that the ban will likely last about a week.

Are iPhone 12 mini, HomePod mini the Perfect Apple Devices for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.