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<img decoding="async" class="wp-block-gutenberg-custom-blocks-featured-media" src="https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/stop-the-steal-facebook.jpg" alt="Protesters calling to stop the vote count in Pennsylvania due to alleged fraud against President Donald Trump gather on the steps of the State Capital on Nov. 05 in Harrisburg, Penn."/>
				<p><a href="https://time.com/5906854/facebook-twitter-election-day/" >Facebook</a> has officially shut down &#8220;Stop the Steal,&#8221; a pro-Trump group which had amassed over 364,000 members in less than 48 hours, for promoting election misinformation regarding ongoing <a href="https://time.com/5906423/2020-election-results/" >vote counts.</a></p><p>With protests over the ongoing tally of votes sweeping through a number of U.S. cities, Facebook tells TIME that it removed the group on Thursday over &#8220;worrying calls for violence.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;In line with the exceptional measures that we are taking during this period of heightened tension, we have removed the group &#8216;Stop the Steal,&#8217; which was creating real-world events,&#8221; a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. &#8220;The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group.&#8221;</p><p>The group, which <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/11/stop-the-count-facebook-group/"  target="_blank" rel="noopener" target="_blank">appeared to be linked</a> to the pro-Trump organization Women for America First as well as the Tea Party, was created in the wake of <a href="https://time.com/5906949/donald-trump-vote-count/" >President Donald Trump falsely claiming</a> that he had defeated Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden during a speech he delivered from the East Room of the White House after 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning.</p><p>As state and local election officials continued to count ballots across the country in the days after Election Day, Trump continued to post <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324033983882166272"  target="_blank" rel="noopener" target="_blank">false</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324108200141082624"  target="_blank" rel="noopener" target="_blank">misleading tweets</a>, in which he made baseless allegations about voter fraud in key states. Many of these tweets were flagged by Twitter for containing disputed or misleading information. The description of the &#8220;Stop the Steal&#8221; group on Facebook seemed to reference Trump&#8217;s claims.</p><p>&ldquo;Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes. It&rsquo;s up to us, the American People, to fight and to put a stop to it,&rdquo; the page read. &ldquo;Along with President Trump, we will do whatever it takes to ensure the integrity of this election for the good of the nation.&rdquo;</p>
			<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
			<div class="time-embed time-embed__twitter" data-provider="twitter" data-url="https://twitter.com/CynCity_USA/status/1324423636552396802" ></div>
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			<p>Posts on the page were rife with misinformation, including unsubstantiated claims that election workers were throwing out ballots or that voters in Maricopa County in Arizona were encouraged to vote with Sharpies that would make their ballots illegible.</p><p>The &#8220;Stop the Steal&#8221; movement has also spread to Twitter, with some pro-Trump users tagging their posts with the corresponding hashtag.</p>

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published: 2020-11-05 22:18:16.000000000 Z
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title: Facebook Shuts Down Large Pro-Trump ‘Stop the Steal’ Group for Spreading Election
  Misinformation and Calling for Violence
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- Uncategorized
- Brief
- News Desk
- Social Media
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summary: Facebook said it removed the group on Thursday over "worrying calls for violence"
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url: https://time.com/5907902/stop-the-steal-facebook-group-trump-election/
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  alt=\"Protesters calling to stop the vote count in Pennsylvania due to alleged fraud
  against President Donald Trump gather on the steps of the State Capital on Nov.
  05 in Harrisburg, Penn.\"/>\n\t\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https://time.com/5906854/facebook-twitter-election-day/\"
  >Facebook</a> has officially shut down &#8220;Stop the Steal,&#8221; a pro-Trump
  group which had amassed over 364,000 members in less than 48 hours, for promoting
  election misinformation regarding ongoing <a href=\"https://time.com/5906423/2020-election-results/\"
  >vote counts.</a></p><p>With protests over the ongoing tally of votes sweeping through
  a number of U.S. cities, Facebook tells TIME that it removed the group on Thursday
  over &#8220;worrying calls for violence.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;In line with the exceptional
  measures that we are taking during this period of heightened tension, we have removed
  the group &#8216;Stop the Steal,&#8217; which was creating real-world events,&#8221;
  a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. &#8220;The group was organized around
  the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence
  from some members of the group.&#8221;</p><p>The group, which <a href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/11/stop-the-count-facebook-group/\"
  \ target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">appeared to be linked</a>
  to the pro-Trump organization Women for America First as well as the Tea Party,
  was created in the wake of <a href=\"https://time.com/5906949/donald-trump-vote-count/\"
  >President Donald Trump falsely claiming</a> that he had defeated Democratic presidential
  nominee Joe Biden during a speech he delivered from the East Room of the White House
  after 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning.</p><p>As state and local election officials
  continued to count ballots across the country in the days after Election Day, Trump
  continued to post <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324033983882166272\"
  \ target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">false</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324108200141082624\"
  \ target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">misleading tweets</a>, in
  which he made baseless allegations about voter fraud in key states. Many of these
  tweets were flagged by Twitter for containing disputed or misleading information.
  The description of the &#8220;Stop the Steal&#8221; group on Facebook seemed to
  reference Trump&#8217;s claims.</p><p>&ldquo;Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise
  and nullify Republican votes. It&rsquo;s up to us, the American People, to fight
  and to put a stop to it,&rdquo; the page read. &ldquo;Along with President Trump,
  we will do whatever it takes to ensure the integrity of this election for the good
  of the nation.&rdquo;</p>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter
  wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"time-embed
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  ></div>\n\t\t\t</div></figure>\n\t\t\t<p>Posts on the page were rife with misinformation,
  including unsubstantiated claims that election workers were throwing out ballots
  or that voters in Maricopa County in Arizona were encouraged to vote with Sharpies
  that would make their ballots illegible.</p><p>The &#8220;Stop the Steal&#8221;
  movement has also spread to Twitter, with some pro-Trump users tagging their posts
  with the corresponding hashtag.</p>"
author: Megan McCluskey

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