Trump backers seek online refuges after big tech backlash

A file photo of Trump supporters being confronted by US Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington. Online supporters of President Donald Trump are scattering to smaller social media platforms, fleeing what they say is unfair treatment by Facebook, Twitter and other big tech firms looking to squelch misinformation and threats of violence. — AP

Online supporters of US President Donald Trump are scattering to smaller social media platforms, fleeing what they say is unfair treatment by Facebook, Twitter and other big tech firms looking to squelch misinformation and threats of violence.

The efforts by those mainstream platforms, prompted by the deadly rampage at the US Capitol on Jan 6, will likely succeed, according to social media and misinformation experts. But the crackdown could send some of Trump’s fiercest supporters retreating to dark and secret spaces on the Internet where conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric run rampant.