After Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet drew attention to several accounts on Instagram that were allegedly linked to the Qanon movement, where supposed misinformation about the pandemic in Sweden was spread, these have been shut down.
According to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, the “cyber cult” calls for violence and refers to experts who claim that Qanon “poses a significant risk to public safety”. A few days ago, several of the accounts were still active, but it changed when Svenska Dagbladet contacted Facebook.
Since Facebook last year expanded its policies on allegedly dangerous organizations, thousands of pages and accounts on both platforms have been shut down because they have been linked to Qanon. The accounts that the Swedish newspaper has noticed have also been shut down. It collaborates with experts to study emerging trends, content and behaviour to help users be “safe”.
According to the Swedish Minister of Culture and Democracy Amanda Lind, the big internet giants benefit from this type of content. The Minister said she would meet the companies to talk about these issues.
“The large platform companies have responsibilities because they benefit from spreading power-seeking or extreme material that gives many reactions,” Lind wrote in an email to Svenska Dagbladet.
Forsided, 14.05.2021
Source: Samnytt