Facebook Photograph:( AFP )
On Thursday afternoon, the "Stop the Steal" group, which called for "boots on the ground to protect the integrity of the vote," was adding 1,000 new members every 10 seconds and had grown to 365,000 members in a single day.
Facebook Inc has said it took down a rapidly growing group where some supporters of US President Donald Trump posted violent rhetoric and baseless claims that Democrats were stealing the election.
On Thursday afternoon, the "Stop the Steal" group, which called for "boots on the ground to protect the integrity of the vote," was adding 1,000 new members every 10 seconds and had grown to 365,000 members in a single day.
A Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement that the move was in line with the "exceptional measures" Facebook was taking during "this period of heightened tension."
The group's backers criticized the deletion, saying they were organising peaceful protests, that they had been working hard to police the comments, and that Facebook had given then no warning.
Chris Barron, a spokesman for the group, said their political opponents were also voicing concerns over the election being stolen and organizing for protests but did not face the same problems.
A review of a small number of comments posted to the group ahead of its deletion found no direct calls for violence, but its organizing premise - that Republican votes are being "nullified" by Democrats - has no basis in fact. For months, Trump and Republican allies have been laying the groundwork to cast doubt on the integrity of the US election in case the president lost his re-election bid.
As election returns show a brightening picture for Trump's Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, and as US broadcasters and other major media outlets continue to brush off his premature claims of victory, the president and his supporters have taken to social media to try to turn the narrative around, floating conspiratorial theories using the hashtag #StopTheSteal.
Twitter has also taken measures to curb the spread of misinformation as ballot counting continues. Eight of the president`s 28 tweets since Election Day on Tuesday have been placed behind a warning label saying they contain disputed information.
The now-removed "Stop the Steal" group was run by the Trump action group Women for America First. The non-profit organised protests against COVID-19 restrictions and supported Trump during his impeachment hearing.