Shutterstock
Twitter Bans More Than 7,000 QAnon Conspiracy Accounts; and Trump Says ‘I wish her well’ to Sex Trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Twitter revealed that more than 7,000 QAnon accounts were removed from their platform on Tuesday. The accounts were associated with a group of online provocateurs in support of President Trump. Their goal is to spread conspiracy theories about an attempt to topple the president from power. As a result, even Trump himself has retweeted QAnon accounts more than 25 times.
Overall, Twitter officials expect that the crackdown will affect more than 150,000 accounts. This will make the ban the most wide-reaching response to the pro-Trump theory that any social media platform has taken.
“We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called ‘QAnon’ activity across the service,” Twitter explained.
So far, it’s yet to be seen how QAnon users, most of whom use a cell phone, deal with these changes.
Related: What Is the “Deep State”? QAnon Conspiracy Theories Explained
Ghislaine Maxwell is currently in federal jail awaiting trial for her role in helping to groom underage girls for sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein. On Tuesday, President Trump was asked about her case during a news briefing at the White House.
Maxwell “played a critical role” in helping Epstein identify, “befriend and groom minor victims for abuse,” according to prosecutors. Thus far, she has pleaded not guilty and denies the allegations.
“I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly,” said Trump. “I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach. And I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.”
Trump was photographed with both Epstein and Maxwell numerous times before Epstein was charged in the mid-2000s. One of the alleged victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said she was recruited by Maxwell while working as a locker room attendant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Epstein died by suicide last year while he was awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy. Trump has less kind words for Epstein when he was first arrested, saying that they’d had a “falling out,” and that he “wasn’t a fan.”
Related: Ghislaine Maxwell, Former Epstein Contact, in Federal Custody
