Facebook removes pro-Trump 'Stop the Steal' group over 'worrying calls for violence' after membership exploded to more than 365K members in a single day
Facebook announced Thursday it has taken down a rapidly growing pro-Trump group called 'Stop the Steal' because members were calling for violence.
The group racked up more than 365,000 members in a single day in response to Tuesday's election with Trump supporters attempting to sow doubt over the legitimacy of the presidential election and calling for protests.
The group, created Wednesday, called for 'boots on the ground to protect the integrity of the vote' and members said 'Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes'.
'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,' a Facebook spokesperson said Thursday.
'The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group,' the spokesperson added.
Facebook announced Thursday it has taken down a rapidly growing pro-Trump group called 'Stop the Steal' because members were calling for violence. The group, created Wednesday, racked up more than 365,000 members before it was shut down Thursday. A screenshot of the page before it was removed above
'Stop the Steal' saw 1,000 new members being added every 10 seconds before it was shut down.
Some of the conspiracies peddled in the group include debunked claims about #SharpieGate, where Trump supporters in Maricopa County, Arizona alleged they were given Sharpie pens to fill out their ballots to render them invalid. Arizona election officials have said that is not true.
The group was being used to organize protests at ballot-counting centers and some members had discussed arming themselves for violent confrontations, as per NPR.
The group had plans for several demonstrations including ones in Washington DC and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Thursday.
A view of a post in the group with the caption 'Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes' above. It racked up more than 7,000 reactions and 1,400 comments
The group was being used to organize protests at ballot-counting centers and some members had discussed arming themselves for violent confrontations. A view of events scheduled in the group above
This is a screenshot of a post that was made in the group before it was removed where one Trump supporter wrote: 'Their plan is to remove Joe Biden as unfit and put in Harris, please Lord let Donald Trump prevail'
In another recent screenshot from the page before it was shut down one Facebook user asked if others did not have their ID's checked when voting
The Facebook group was tied to Women for America First, a non-profit organized to protest against Trump’s impeachment by former tea party activist Amy Kremer, as per Mother Jones.
The non-profit organized protests against COVID-19 as well earlier this year.
On Twitter, one of the Facebook group’s administrators, Amy Kremer, said: 'The left is trying to steal an election and Social media is complicit. This is outrageous!'
The #StopTheSteal hashtag has also emerged on Twitter and has been used in protests in several states to spread unverified and false claims about the vote-counting process.
Twitter said it is monitoring the hashtag.
A Stop The Steal protest pictured above Thursday in Pennsylvania where dozens of people demanded the vote stop being counted as President Donald Trump claimed there was voter fraud
Representative Jim Jordan stands with dozens of people calling for stopping the vote count in Pennsylvania due to alleged fraud against President Donald Trump on the steps of the State Capital in Harrisburg on Thursday
A group of Trump supporters chanting 'Stop the Steal' pictured at the Republican National Committee Headquarters in Washington DC
A Stop the Steal protest full of Trump supporters pictured outside of the Clark County Election Center in North Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday
There are several other Facebook groups with similar names still on the platform and some were created to replace the 'Stop the Steal' group.
Another group using the same name but with different administrators, told its members that no threats would be allowed and that they should take precautions like using images with words rather than text.
This group, which had more than 2,000 members, also said it would shift to become private in a few days.