Facebook has taken down Antifa and affiliated anarchist groups. “Facebook explicitly sought to disrupt Antifa’s operations and said it restricted 1,400 hashtags related to the militant leftists and tore down 520 pages and 160 ads. Facebook’s crackdown on Antifa is a harbinger of things to come, as the company said it has begun changing its policies to more aggressively go after militia groups supporting violent protests. Facebook’s policy shift takes aim at the radical organizations’ funding, their ability to attract new followers, and the visibility of their content. By publicizing its actions against Antifa, Facebook has called attention to its more aggressive content moderation approach as affecting all political ideologies” (“Facebook cracks down,” The Washington Times, Aug. 20, 2020). At the same time, Facebook has “removed 790 QANON groups and imposed restrictions on an additional 1,950 QAnon groups on its platform and 10,000 accounts on Instagram.” QAnon is a hodgepodge of conspiracy theories based on enigmatic reports published by an anonymous person known as “Q” who allegedly has access to ultra top-secret information. There is no evidence that “Q” is anyone other than some goofball with too much time on his hands having a lark, but QAnon believers see Q’s publications as “breadcrumbs” of evidence for their enlightenment. There are fragments of truth, of course, as in all such things, but largely it is a will-o’-the-wisp world of inscrutable poetry, numerology, secret signals, etc. An example of a Q message is this: “Think SC vote to confirm (coming). No Name action. Every dog has its day. Enjoy the show.” It is as murky and meaningless as a Nostradamus prophecy. QAnon is an Alice Wonderland in which nothing is solid, nothing is sure, nothing means what it seems to mean. The main theme is that presidents before Trump were part of a cabal of “deep-state” international evil operators who control America and the world (the media, politicians, Hollywood), operating death squads and pedophile rings and a great many other secret things. Trump was chosen by military generals to run for president to destroy this cabal, which he will supposedly do in a purge called “The Storm” (in which tens of thousands of deep state operatives, including Hilly Clinton, will be arrested and subjected to military tribunals, etc.). Trump supposedly flashes secret signals to QAnon insiders. One of the theories is that John. R. Kennedy, Jr., and his wife faked their own plane crash deaths and went undercover to work with Trump. QAnon is associated with a hodgepodge of conspiracies pertaining to Covid-19, 9-11, UFOs, 5G technology and mind control, etc. It is as nutty as a fruitcake. While a lot of people are attracted to such things and are true believers, a lot of the followers are doubtless just entertaining themselves like “Q” is. To any Q followers in Bible-believing churches, we would say, you don’t need Q; you have the infallible Word of God! Stop wasting your time chasing will-o’-the-wisp in a rabbit hole and become a serious Bible student and disciple of Jesus Christ. And to Facebook and other social media companies, we would say, by all means ban violent speech and pornography and pedophilia and such things, but you should not be censors of speech that is legal under law. Allegedly nutty or not, it should be none of your business. Liberals and leftists, et al, have plenty of their own fake news and conspiratorial nuttiness. Do you want someone censoring your free speech? (Friday Church News Notes, August 28, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)
(Friday Church News Notes, August 28, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)