Following the events of last week’s unrest at the U.S. Capitol, Facebook has declared it will implement further measures to eliminate content on its platform that references the phrase “stop the steal.” This expression is linked to a far-right movement that propagates false claims of a fraudulent U.S. democratic election and seeks to maintain Donald Trump’s presidency through any available means, including, recently, violent rebellion. Facebook previously removed initial Stop the Steal groups in November and states it has consistently removed Pages, groups, and events that breach its policies, particularly those inciting violence.

As previously covered by TechCrunch, Facebook also initiated the blocking of election conspiracy hashtags in November 2020, including #sharpiegate and #stopthesteal, effectively preventing search results for related groups or posts.

However, the extent of this cleanup operation has not been as comprehensive or sustained as Facebook suggests. At the time of this writing, we have identified several active Facebook Groups that are still explicitly named “stop the steal,” for instance.

Facebook explains that this escalated action is a response to the growing number of calls for violence within the United States.

“We have been permitting extensive discussions concerning the election results, and this will continue,” Facebook stated in an announcement jointly written by Facebook VP of Integrity, Guy Rosen, and Monika Bickert, VP Global Policy Management. “However, given the ongoing efforts to organize events challenging the outcome of the U.S. presidential election that could result in violence, and the use of this term by individuals involved in Wednesday’s events in D.C., we are taking this additional measure in anticipation of the inauguration,” the blog post detailed.

“It will require some time to fully implement enforcement of this new step, but we have already removed a substantial amount of content,” the authors indicated.

The organization is clearly attempting to disassociate itself from being perceived as a platform utilized by those who orchestrated the U.S. Capitol riot. Indeed, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg stated in a Reuters interview on Monday that the riot was “primarily organized” on other online services, not Facebook. She added that Facebook had removed content from extremist groups, such as QAnon, the Proud Boys, and Stop the Steal groups, as well as any material promoting violence.

Facebook is not the sole major social platform actively removing content that violates its terms of service, as the consequences of social media’s previously lenient policies have now manifested in violent demonstrations, an attempted coup, and loss of life.

Multiple social media companies have also suspended Trump from their platforms, while Congress considers impeachment proceedings related to his incitement of violence. Simultaneously, the app stores and web hosting provider for the alternative social network Parler have also removed it due to the hate speech and calls for violence it hosted.

Facebook reports it will maintain staffing at its Integrity Operations Center around the clock, at least through January 22, to monitor and address threats in real time. This timeframe is likely due to the FBI’s warning of planned armed protests in all 50 state capitals and Washington D.C. in the days leading up to President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, as reported this morning by the AP. This is the reason for the continued high availability of Facebook’s Integrity Operations Center during this period.

The Center was already operational prior to Georgia’s runoff elections and Congress’s certification of the Electoral College votes. Its operations were extended in response to the Capitol protests, according to Facebook.

The company also notes it will continue to collaborate with law enforcement to remove content, deactivate accounts, and fulfill legal requests for user data.