Twitter bans tens of thousands of QAnon-linked accounts

Twitter Inc has suspended more than 70,000 accounts since Friday that were primarily dedicated to sharing QAnon content after last week's violence in Washington when supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol.

"Given the violent events in Washington, DC, and increased risk of harm, we began permanently suspending thousands of accounts that were primarily dedicated to sharing QAnon content on Friday afternoon," Twitter said in a blog late on Monday.

"These accounts were engaged in sharing harmful QAnon-associated content at scale and were primarily dedicated to the propagation of this conspiracy theory across the service," the company said.

QAnon backers have pushed conspiracies on social media that include the baseless claim that Trump secretly is fighting a cabal of child-sex predators, among them prominent Democrats, figures in Hollywood and "deep state" allies.

Twitter had said on Friday it would permanently suspend accounts pushing QAnon content, banning prominent right-wing boosters of its conspiracy theories.

READ MORE: Twitter permanently suspends Trump citing risk of incitement

The storming of the Capitol building last week by Trump supporters delayed the certification of Biden's election victory.

Lawmakers were forced to flee, as the building was mobbed by the president's supporters who overwhelmed security forces. 

Five people died in the violence including one Capitol Police officer who was beaten as he tried to ward off the crowds.

Companies take action

Twitter announcement came as Amazon.com Inc said it was working to remove some QAnon products from its online marketplace, citing policies that prohibit offensive items or other inappropriate content.

The world's largest online retailer drew scrutiny for having apparel with QAnon insignia and related books up for sale days after QAnon followers joined last week's siege of the US Capitol, which left five people dead.

Meanwhile, PayPal Holdings Inc said it has blocked the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo after it helped raise funds for people who attended last week’s event in Washington.

The digital payments processor also confirmed that it closed an account held by Ali Alexander, one of the organisers of the gathering. 

Trump, who has without evidence challenged the validity of Biden’s election win, initially praised his supporters but later condemned the violence.

READ MORE: How reliable is Twitter?