Patreon will remove accounts from 'QAnon-dedicated creators'

The company updated its policies to address the promotion of QAnon-related disinformation.

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Abrar Al-Heeti

Oct. 23, 2020 2:11 p.m. PT

2 min read

Membership site Patreon on Thursday shared an update to its policies, saying it would no longer support creator accounts that "advance disinformation promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory." QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that falsely alleges there's a "deep state" plot against US President Donald Trump.

Patreon says a small number of creators on its platform have supported QAnon through their work.

"Because of this, and the fact that we have seen a number of other online platforms become overrun with pages and groups actively focused around QAnon disinformation, we are taking action," the company said in a blog post. "From now on, QAnon-dedicated creators that are identified by our Policy and Trust & Safety teams will have their accounts removed from Patreon."

Meanwhile, creators who "have propagated some QAnon content" but aren't dedicated to spreading the misinformation will have the chance to comply with the updated guidelines. Patreon will reach out to creators in the coming days to offer guidance on how the new policy will affect their accounts.

"This policy change applies only to creators engaged in spreading QAnon-supporting disinformation," Patreon notes. "Simply mentioning, entertaining, reporting on, or debunking QAnon is not a violation of our guidelines. This policy update is exclusively addressing the propagation of disinformation related to QAnon."

Social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have cracked down on QAnon content, with Facebook saying earlier this month that it would take down Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts representing QAnon, even if posts don't contain violent content.