by Elon Musk
Nikita Bier, product manager at
“This is an important first step in ensuring the integrity of the global city square,” Bier wrote on X.
The launch sparked a wave of online sleuths.
Almost immediately, the platform was flooded with posts reporting dozens of right-wing internet personalities – supporters of Trump’s political slogans “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) or “America First” – whose location data showed they were in Nigeria, Bangladesh or Eastern Europe.
“Why do so many MAGA influencers come from outside the US? It’s almost like they work for foreign governments,” liberal influencer Ed Krassenstein wrote in a post.
The feature also appeared to vindicate researchers who warned during last year’s US presidential election that a network of MAGA accounts was operating abroad, posing as “Trump-supporting independent women” and using stolen photos of European models and influencers.
“From the new account information from
“Prior to this change, we were able to prove that these profiles were fake, but we had almost no visibility into where they came from and often had to rely on ‘gaffes’ posted by the accounts, timing of posting patterns, and irregularities in language.”
“Now we can see that many of the accounts in this particular network are linked to Southeast Asia, bringing us closer to understanding who might be behind them,” Strick added.
– ‘Rooks and edges’ –
Reflecting a hyperpolarized political climate, some right-wing figures also pointed the finger at left-wing users who appeared to be posting from suspicious locations.
However, X warned that the location data “may be inaccurate and may change periodically.”
When users clicked on an account’s location, a pop-up appeared with the message: “The country or region in which an account is located may be affected by recent travel or temporary relocation.”
Some users may also be connected via a VPN, which can obscure their real location.
“There are a few rough edges that will be resolved by Tuesday,” Bier wrote after the feature’s release.
Late Sunday, Bier said an “upgrade” is coming that will ensure “accuracy is close to 99.99%.”
Some users criticized the launch, warning that it could expose the whereabouts of dissidents and protesters in autocratic states. However, Bier said that for users in countries “where speaking carries penalties,” the feature includes privacy switches that only display region.
Shortly after publication, some obviously fraudulent accounts with large followings were suddenly deleted without any explanation.
An X-handle posing as a fan account for Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, was blocked after users discovered that its location was listed as Nigeria.
The account, which had more than a million followers, regularly posted pro-Trump content as well as Islamophobic and anti-immigrant messages.
X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on the suspension.
As tech platforms scale back content moderation and reduce their reliance on human fact-checkers, disinformation researchers warn of a growing threat from Russian and Chinese actors seeking to sow political chaos in Western countries — as well as foreign influencers driven by the prospect of monetary gain.
The new feature “sheds light on a fundamental problem with today’s social media: paid actors intentionally stoking difficult issues because controversy attracts attention,” Amy Bruckman, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told AFP.
“It’s a difficult situation and I believe we need more trustworthy platforms that don’t allow people to misbehave.”
Last month,
burs-ac/sla
