‘The Big Delete:’ Inside Facebook’s crackdown in Germany

By DAVID KLEPPER
Associated Press

Days before Germany’s federal elections, Facebook removed a network of accounts that it said had spread COVID-19 misinformation and encouraged violent responses to COVID restrictions. The network was linked to the Querdenken movement, a loose coalition of German vaccine and mask opponents, conspiracy theorists and some far-right extremists. A review of the content Facebook took down reveals it’s not any worse than many Querdenken posts that remain on its platform. The platform said it the removals are the first under a new policy that focuses not only on harmful content, but on users who work together to violate Facebook’s policies.