President Donald Trump’s path to remain in the White House is narrowing and his supporters are not taking it well. A newly created Facebook group spreading false election conspiracy theories and hinting at gun violence quickly rocketed to over 300,000 members in just one day.
Vice News reported on the group in depth on Thursday. Named “Stop the Steal,” which clearly took its inspiration from Trump himself, who is pulling out all the stops to claim the election is fraudulent despite a complete lack of evidence. The group was once public but at time of removal was no longer visible to non-members.
Facebook has now removed the group, according to reports. The company has also blocked the hashtag #stopthesteal from search, noting its Community Standards.
Image: Screenshot/Facebook
“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, according to CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan. “The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group.”
Mashable reached out to Facebook for comment but has not yet received a response.
“The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group.”
— Donie O’Sullivan (@donie) November 5, 2020
Before its removal, the group was spreading dangerous lies. The group’s about page claimed “Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes,” a claim for which there is no evidence. Vice reported members posted things like “guns out” regarding a thoroughly debunked conspiracy about Sharpies that were used on ballots in Arizona. According to Vice, dozens of users called for a civil war, while others wrote comments like, “my guns are ready, all 15 assault rifles I own that I won’t be giving up.” The group also planned in-person events at ballot-counting locations.
So it’s pretty clear why, exactly, Facebook took action against the group — it was spreading misinformation and stoking violence. Reuters reported the group was started by the conservative nonprofit called Women for America First. Reuters also noted that administrators and moderators of the group included Tea Party activist Amy Kremer, her daughter Kylie, as well as Jennifer Lawrence and Dustin Stockton, who were reportedly members of the ‘We Build the Wall’ fundraiser that led to federal indictments for Steve Bannon and others. Women for America First reportedly shared calls for fundraising on the “Stop the Steal” group page, though it’s unclear how much money was raised.
While Facebook might’ve removed the group from its platform, Trump, his family, and his allies are relentlessly pushing the idea — again, of course, sans any real evidence — that the election was somehow corrupted by Democrats. So it’s a safe bet new groups will form in the absence left by “Stop the Steal.”
UPDATE: Nov. 5, 2020, 3:49 p.m. EST: Updated with information regarding Facebook blocking search results for #stopthesteal.