X's location transparency feature raises questions about account origins
X introduced a transparency feature revealing user account locations, which sparked controversy after users discovered numerous MAGA accounts claiming American origins were actually based in Eastern Europe and other regions.
X launched a location transparency feature designed to verify content authenticity and combat troll farms by displaying the country where accounts were created. The feature revealed that many high-engagement MAGA accounts claiming to be American were actually registered in Eastern Europe, Thailand, Nigeria, and Bangladesh.
Notably, accounts like 'ULTRAMAGA TRUMP 2028' supposedly from Washington, D.C., were shown as originating from Africa, while another Trump-inspired account was traced to Macedonia. Controversy intensified when screenshots suggested the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's account was based in Israel, though DHS denied this, attributing the discrepancy to forged screenshots.
X's product head Nikita Bier acknowledged that location data contained errors from changing IP ranges and temporarily disabled the feature for corrections. The feature has been reinstated with plans to resolve remaining inaccuracies through periodic, randomized updates while maintaining user privacy.
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