Facebook removes pro-Trump page for spreading misinformation

New group using same name already has more than 1,000 members

A car driver holds a sign at Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House after Election Day in Washington, DC. Reuters

An Oregon State Trooper hits a protester with his baton while dispersing a crowd of black bloc protesters in Portland. AFP

Soldiers with the National Guard help local police disperse antifascist protesters following the US presidential elections in Portland, Oregon. EPA

Minneapolis State Patrol arrest journalists and people protesting against racism and issues with the presidential election after they blocked interstate 94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Demonstrators march on to highway I-94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Police officers line up alongside interstate 94 blocked by protestors marching against racism and issues with the presidential election in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Minneapolis State Patrol arrest journalists and people protesting against racism and issues with the presidential election after they blocked interstate 94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

A woman pulls a child away from a protest crowd as it passes a downtown restaurant in Portland, Oregon. AFP

Black bloc protesters pull a barrier into the street while running from police in Portland, Oregon. AFP

Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria, left, is interrupted by a disgruntled member of the public during a press conference outside Clark County Election Department, in North Las Vegas. AFP

People hold a "Remove Trump Pence Now" sign during a protest against racism and issues with the presidential election after in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

A speaker leads a crowd in chants in Portland, Oregon. AFP

Pedestrians walk past a digital screen displaying a news report on the U.S. presidential election in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Bloomberg

A man watches the U.S. Election live broadcasting at a bar on November 05, 2020 in Shanghai, China. Getty Images

South Korean supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump hold flags near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. AP Photo

Vietnamese souvenir seller Truong Thanh Duc, supporter of US President Donald Trump, shows images of the president at his shop in Hanoi, Vietnam. Reuters

Medical workers look at a computer screen displaying the partial results of the US elections, at the intensive care unit for patients infected by Covid-19 of the university-affiliated hospital Cavale Blanche in Brest, western France. AFP

A currency dealer monitors exchange rates as a screen shows results of the US presidential elections in a trading room at KEB Hana Bank in Seoul. AFP

A cyclist wears a banner at Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House after Election Day in Washington, U.S., November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Facebook said it had taken down a rapidly growing group where supporters of US President Donald Trump posted misinformation and violent speech, and organised protests against the baseless claim that Democrats were stealing the election.

The group grew to more than 365,000 members in one day.

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 on Thursday afternoon.

"The group was organised around the delegitimisation of the election process and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group," a Facebook spokeswoman said.

She said the move was in line with measures Facebook was taking during "this period of heightened tension".

The group prepared for Facebook to take action, directing new members to an email sign-up page "in the event that social media censors this group".

A new group using the same name had more than 1,000 members.

Stop the Steal was run by the Trump action group Women for America First.

The non-profit organisation ran protests against Covid-19 restrictions and supported Mr Trump during his impeachment hearing.

"The left is trying to steal an election and social media is complicit," one of the Facebook group's administrators, Amy Kremer, said on Twitter. "This is outrageous."

Unfounded and debunked claims about the integrity of the US election have been spread on social media by Mr Trump and high-profile Republican accounts, and the hashtag #StopTheSteal has gained momentum.