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X’s Account-Location Tool Exposes Foreign Operators Behind Prominent Political Profiles

The transparency tool spotlights non‑U.S. operators of high‑reach political profiles, intensifying scrutiny of influence networks, monetization incentives, accuracy limits, privacy risks.

Overview

  • X rolled out an About This Account panel that shows the country or region where an account is based when users tap the signup date on a profile.
  • Users quickly highlighted that several high‑follower pro‑MAGA profiles, along with Gaza‑branded and Scottish‑independence personas, appear to be operated from regions such as Eastern Europe, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Thailand.
  • X acknowledged errors in some listings, temporarily removed certain location fields, then reinstated them while promising an upgrade to make results nearly 99.99% accurate and cautioning that VPNs, proxies or travel can mislead the signal.
  • The company enabled a region‑only display for users in countries with punitive speech restrictions and exempted gray‑check government accounts, as manipulated screenshots and misread examples circulated during the rollout.
  • Some high‑profile accounts were suspended or deleted after being flagged, and researchers including NewsGuard linked the exposed profiles to foreign influence operations and engagement‑driven content farms.