Whatever you do on Facebook, make sure you don't change your group name to mock deluded users who've gone all in on the baseless claim that voter fraud tipped the 2020 U.S. election to President-elect Joe Biden.
Facebook confirmed Monday that it removed a group, "Gay Communists for Socialism," for misleading its users. The group was originally titled "Stop the Steal," and was created after another "Stop the Steal" Facebook group went viral spreading election misinformation. The entire thing, at least when it came to the latter "Stop the Steal" group, was a setup.
As Rolling Stonereported on Friday, "Gay Communists for Socialism" (née "Stop the Steal") was created explicitly as a honeypot. The idea was to attract confused conspiracy theorists looking for a place to revel in their delusions after Facebook shut down the initial "Stop the Steal" group on Thursday. Then, once it had grown to around 60,000 users, an admin of the reborn "Stop the Steal" group changed the group's name to "Gay Communists for Socialism."
"We've removed several clusters of activity for using inauthentic behavior tactics to artificially boost how many people saw their content," a Facebook spokesperson confirmed via email. "That includes a Group that was originally named 'Stop the Steal' which later became 'Gay Communists for Socialism' and misled people about its purpose using deceptive tactics."

As you might imagine, the name change didn't sit well with group members — members who thought they'd signed up to perpetuate a dangerous lie and advocate violence instead found themselves associated with queer people (the horror!).
Screenshots of group members' reactions, shared on Twitter, are quite the sight.
Tweet may have been deleted
But alas, as of Monday the group is no more. And sure, Facebook can take down whatever group it wants to. That's its prerogative.
SEE ALSO: Facebook considers becoming mildly less convenient in hopes of saving democracy
The troubling part, though, is the company's stated justification. As both election and coronavirus-related misinformation continue to spread on the social media platform, Facebook's public justification for pulling "Gay Communists for Socialism" is not because people may have been using the group to actually spread misinformation, but rather because its group admins did a 180 with its name.
We can all rest easy, folks. When it comes to protecting democracy, Facebook is clearly on the case.
TopicsFacebookSocial Media
(责任编辑:娛樂)
The Weeknd teases new music in Instagram post
Facebook’s desperate for people to take its fake news fight seriously
Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle are touring together in 2018
'Suits' creator gushes about what it was like to attend Meghan and Harry's wedding
PlayStation Now game streaming is coming to PCOver 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California
A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California's Cajon Pass has grown in hot, dry weather, thre
...[详细]Sonos Beam is the newest smart speaker for your TV
Today, at a special media event in San Francisco, Sonos announced a new partnership with Apple and a
...[详细]Facebook’s desperate for people to take its fake news fight seriously
Facebook really, really 。wants you to know that it’s serious about fighting fake news. 。 The soc
...[详细]'Incredibles 2' is a standout superhero flick: Review
In the 14 years since The Incrediblescame out, superhero movies have exploded. Circa 2004, we got ma
...[详细]Katy Perry talks 'Rise,' her next batch of songs, and how to survive Twitter
Katy Perry recently surpassed 90 million followers on Twitter, making her the person with the most f
...[详细]Man with the 'golden arm' saved lives for 60 years, donates last time
James Harrison is a hero unlike you've come across before.
。The 81-year-old Australian has been givin
...[详细]Project Fi is adding the Moto G6, LG G7, and LG V35 to its lineup
Back in 2015, Google unveiled Project Fi to the world. There was a lot of skepticism targeted at the
...[详细]Jumping out of a virtual plane is perfect for those who can't or won't skydive IRL
I've never quite got round to throwing myself out of a plane. Somehow, I wake up every day and find
...[详细]More than half of women in advertising have faced sexual harassment, report says
If you are a woman in advertising, chances are you've faced workplace sexual harassment at one point
...[详细]Beyoncé liked a meme about Nas on Twitter
Beyoncé made the world stop once again when she and husband Jay-Z released their joint album
...[详细]