'Stop the steal' content to be removed from Facebook, Instagram ahead of Biden's inauguration
Jan 12, 2021
Washington [US], January 12 : Facebook on Monday (local time) announced that it will remove content from its platform, which contain the phrase 'stop the steal' under their Coordinating Harm policy from Facebook and Instagram, ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's Inauguration Day on January 20.
"We're taking additional steps and using the same teams and technologies we used during the general election to stop misinformation and content that could incite further violence during these next few weeks," said Facebook officials in a statement.
The social media giant said that it had removed the original Stop the Steal group in November and have continued to remove pages, groups and events that violate any policies, including calls for violence.
"Our teams are working 24/7 to enforce our policies around the inauguration. We will keep our Integrity Operations Center operating at least through January 22 to monitor and respond to threats in real time. We already had it active ahead of Georgia's runoff elections and Congress's counting of the Electoral College votes in the US presidential election. We extended it due to the violence at the Capitol last week," it said.
Facebook also said that it would not allow any advertisements in the US regarding politics or elections, following the indefinite suspension of President Donald Trump's account.
"After the inauguration, our label on posts that attempt to delegitimize the election results will reflect that Joe Biden is the sitting president," it further added.
The company will also roll out a news digest to Facebook News as a curated place for people to find reliable news about the inauguration, which will include a live video of the inauguration at the US Capitol on January 20.
Facebook reiterated its commitment to remove content, disable accounts and work with law enforcement in case of a risk of physical harm and direct threats to public safety.
Chaotic scenes unfolded at the Capitol as supporters of President Trump swarmed the building to protest the Electoral College vote, forcing a lockdown and confrontations with police. Several police officers sustained injuries, while five people died in the scuffle.
Following the violence, the US Congress reconvened in a late-night session on Thursday to certify President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory, with 306 votes in his favour as compared to Trump's 232.
