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The Dangers of Extremism on Social Media
Facebook announced it will ban posts associated with QAnon conspiracy theories from its platform. The announcement is one more step towards combating extremism on social media and stopping the spread of conspiracy theories across their channels. While banning QAnon from Facebook-owned platforms helps to raise the barrier to access, more steps must be taken to eradicate the threat posed by QAnon and extremists who use social media with malicious intent.
QAnon emerged from a conspiracy theory started on 4chan in the Fall of 2017 by an individual claiming to be a high-level government official dubbed Q. Falsely asserting “the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who are plotting against President Trump.” These false claims have exploded through social media like wildfire. What started out on lesser known sites such as 4chan, 8kun, and Gab.com, has been growing over the past few years, and has now moved into more mainstream social media sites such as Facebook. During the coronavirus pandemic, far-right extremist and conspiracy theorist activity has increased on social media.
As a tool, social media has provided many benefits to our society, but for individuals espousing extremist beliefs, it has become a platform to organize, recruit, and radicalize individuals. Together, they create a reinforcing worldview view which limits access to…
