Facebook imposes limits on election content, bans ‘Stop the Steal’ group

Facebook Inc. is tightening its grip on speech across its platforms, invoking some of the emergency measures that executives previously described as their “break glass” options to respond to postelection unrest.

The company announced late on Thursday temporary measures to limit the spread of false and possibly dangerous content, hours after it took down a fast-growing group called “Stop the Steal” that was organizing protests of vote counts around the country.

The new measures are the most-aggressive steps yet by the social-media company to police the debate over the election results, and will alter the platform in ways both noticeable and unseen for users.