Facebook has removed 22 more pages associated with Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist whose pages have been known to spread misinformation and incite violence. Jones is mostly known for making claims that 9/11 and the Sandy Hook shooting were hoaxes.
The company deleted the pages following its latest policy changes that prohibit administrators of removed pages from creating duplicates. Last month, Facebook announced it would make pages more transparent and have third-party fact checkers flagging misleading or incorrect content.
The company has relied upon third-party fact-checkers during the 2018 midterm elections to stop the spread of misinformation about polling locations, times and dates.
Facebook’s update also covers administrators using other existing pages once their pages have been removed.
Not all of the 22 newly removed pages had Jones as a direct administrator; however, there were many common administrators between those pages and the pages removed in August.
Facebook began cracking down on misinformation, pages and groups that have incited violence. In November, the platform banned the Proud Boys, an alt-right group that used Facebook heavily to recruit members and disseminate information to its followers. Facebook removed the page after members of the group were linked to violent protests in New York City.
As Facebook continues its efforts to improve its social impact, it is making the removal of misinformation and hate one of its biggest goals ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
