Musk’s X Sparks Global Debate Over Location Feature Revealing MAGA Accounts Abroad
Elon Musk’s X platform is facing a firestorm after introducing a new feature that reveals the location of user accounts. Launched by X’s head of product Nikita Bier, the tool aims to increase transparency by showing the country or region an account operates from. “This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square,” Bier said, as the feature went live over the weekend.
The update quickly triggered intense scrutiny, with users uncovering dozens of right-wing influencers—many promoting Trump’s “MAGA” and “America First” messages—who were actually operating from countries like Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Eastern Europe. Liberal commentator Ed Krassenstein questioned the findings, asking why so many MAGA promoters were based outside the U.S., suggesting potential foreign influence on the platform.
Researchers also noted the feature validated past concerns about networks of MAGA accounts posing as “Trump-supporting independent women” using stolen photos of European influencers. Benjamin Strick of the Centre for Information Resilience said that before this update, investigators had to rely on posting patterns and language quirks to determine account origins. The new feature revealed that many of these accounts were operating from Thailand and Myanmar, offering new insight into overseas influence campaigns.
The rollout has not been without controversy. X cautioned that location data may not always be accurate, as it can be affected by travel or VPN use, and critics raised concerns about the safety of users in countries with strict speech restrictions. Bier responded that privacy measures are in place for sensitive regions and that an upcoming upgrade would increase accuracy to nearly 99.99%. Some high-profile imposter accounts, including a pro-Ivanka Trump handle with over a million followers listed in Nigeria, were removed shortly after the feature launched.
Experts warn that as platforms reduce content moderation, social media is increasingly vulnerable to disinformation and paid actors seeking to provoke political tensions. Amy Buckman of Georgia Tech described the feature as shedding light on the deliberate spread of divisive content online. Musk’s X, with this location transparency update, has highlighted both the potential and challenges of holding global social media actors accountable.
source: The Guardian