The threat this time resides in a combustible combination of two factors. The first is what’s known as Facebook’s “Group recommendation engine,” which drives people to private Facebook groups. Experts have long warned that these private groups are festering grounds for disinformation and extremist activity, from QAnon to anti-vaxxers, and that the recommendation engine drives people unwittingly into them.
The second is President Trump himself — or, more specifically, Trump’s ongoing claim that the election must be decided on or just after Election Day, and that the millions and millions of still-uncounted ballots will inevitably be fraudulent.