Facebook removed on Thursday a fast-growing group in which supporters of US President Donald Trump posted violent rhetoric after a contentious election.
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 day. "The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members," a Facebook spokeswoman said.
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Group backers said they were organizing peaceful protests, had been working hard to police comments, and that Facebook had given no warning. Chris Barron, a group spokesman, said political opponents were also organizing protests but were not banned. "If Facebook wants to become the arbiter of truth, then they've got a lot of work to do," he said.
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Facebook said the group's removal was in line with "exceptional measures" amid "heightened tension."
