In a written statement, the social network said it has suspended more than 70,000 accounts linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory after the attack on the US Capitol by a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters.

“Following the horrific events in Washington, DC, last week, here are some of the steps we’ve taken to protect the conversation on our service from attempts to incite violence, organize attacks, and share deliberately misleading information about the election outcome,” the statement said.

The statement underlined that it was important to be transparent about all of that work as the US Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2021, approaches.

The statement went on to say: “Many of the individuals impacted by this updated enforcement action held multiple accounts, driving up the total number of accounts impacted. Since Friday, more than 70,000 accounts have been suspended as a result of our efforts, with many instances of a single individual operating numerous accounts. These accounts were engaged in sharing harmful QAnon-associated content at scale and were primarily dedicated to the propagation of this conspiracy theory across the service.”

Last week, supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest against the result of the 2020 presidential election and support Trump's demand for Vice President Mike Pence and Congress to reject President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

On Wednesday morning, protestors gathered for the "Save America" rally, a planned event on the Ellipse where attendees heard speeches from President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Rudy Giuliani. The demonstration culminated in a riot, in which the United States Capitol Building was stormed and invaded by Trump supporters.

The event occurred after numerous earlier attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election results had failed.