Twitter bans far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers

In 2015, some of the group’s members, armed with assault rifles and other weapons, were present at the Ferguson protests that occurred on the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death. Besides threatening violence on Twitter, the group has also used the platform to spread COVID-19 conspiracy theories, often using hashtags linked to movements such as QAnon. A favorite conspiracy theory of the group is that Bill Gates and Dr. Anthony Fauci want to control people’s minds through mandatory vaccines. In recent weeks, social media platforms have stepped up their efforts to limit the spread of conspiracy theories and groups like the Oath Keepers. In August, for example, Facebook removed hundreds of QAnon groups.