Facebook Bans All 'Stop the Steal' Posts Ahead of Biden Inauguration

Facebook announced on Monday that it would start removing content with the phrase "stop the steal" ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.

Facebook said it made the decision in light of the riot in the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday. It added that the phrase "stop the steal" violated the company's policy against "coordinating harm," reported Daily Wire.

It can be recalled that a Stop the Steal group was also removed from Facebook last November. The company confirmed that it continues to remove pages and events that they believe violate their policies, including calls for violence.

The change affecting "stop the steal" posts will also take place in Facebook-owned Instagram.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg also said the company has "no plans" to lift the ban, reported NBC News.

'Stop the Steal' Ban Part of Facebook's Anti-Violence, Anti-Misinformation Effort

Facebook's vice president of integrity Guy Rosen and vice president of global policy management Monika Bickert said in a company blog that this rule was part of the firm's efforts to prevent violence and misinformation leading up to the presidential inauguration.

The company said a "significant number" of "stop the steal" posts have already been taken down, but the new policy's enforcement will still take some time to scale up.

"Stop the Steal" has consistently been used by President Donald Trump as an expression to spread theories of fraud during the 2020 election.

Groups supporting this statement popped up on Facebook shortly after and expanded to right-wing sites like the recently suspended Parler, noted End Gadget.

Facebook also said it would continue to promote reliable news about the upcoming inauguration to its users who use their news tab.

After the inauguration, the company will update its label about posts questioning the election results to include that Joe Biden has officially taken his position as the sitting president.

Facebook also said that it would continue its November police to pause ads in the U.S. about politics or the elections. Restrictions on Facebook posts that have a history of encouraging hate speech will also be in place.

Facebook Vows Continued Support of Robust Conversation

Facebook said it has allowed "robust conversations" related to the recent election outcome and will continue to do so. However, it condemned "attempts to organize events against the outcome of the U.S. presidential election that can lead to violence."

The company's other efforts to combat hate speech and violence-related posts were increasing Group admins' requirement to review and approve posts, automatically disabling comments in posts that encourage hate speech or incite violence, and demoting content that likely violates their policies.

Facebook will keep all these measures as it stays vigilant against additional threats to safety.

The social networking site's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, earlier said it would also suspend Trump from its platform in the days leading up to a complete and peaceful transition of power. It took effect last week as Trump was effectively locked from posting any content on the site indefinitely.