YouTube is cracking down on QAnon videos as part of its ban on videos that have been used to incite violence.
The social media company announced Thursday that it has updated its hate speech policy to ban videos that target individuals or groups with conspiracy theories.
“Today, we are taking another step in our efforts to curb hate and harassment by removing more conspiracy theory content used to justify real-world violence,” the social media company stated on its website.
“One example would be content that threatens or harasses someone by suggesting they are complicit in one of these harmful conspiracies, such as QAnon or Pizzagate.”
The change in policy stops short of a total ban on QAnon, a conspiracy group that claims a variety of unfounded theories including “deep-state” traitors plotting against U.S. President Donald Trump.
The QAnon phenomenon has sprawled across social media in recent years. The conspiracy group has been linked to real-world violence such as criminal reports of kidnapping and dangerous claims that the coronavirus is a hoax.
Google’s YouTube is the latest company to clamp down on QAnon. Over the summer, Facebook and Twitter suspended accounts and blocked sites linked to QAnon conspiracy theory.
— With files from The Associated Press
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