A significant number of prominent X accounts, formerly Twitter, that built large followings by supporting Donald Trump and the MAGA movement have been exposed as operating from outside the United States, with many based in Eastern Europe and India.
The Monetisation Incentive Behind the Masquerade
This widespread practice of engagement farming surged after Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform in October 2022. The new ownership model allowed users to monetise their viral posts, but required an X Premium subscription. While Musk framed this as a method to eliminate bots, it inadvertently created a financial incentive for anonymous accounts abroad to stir up controversy and appeal to specific political groups to generate revenue.
An online investigation uncovered a network of profiles claiming to be patriotic Americans that were, in fact, run from distant countries. One account, impersonating the husband of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Nicholas, claimed to be an "America patriot" located in the US, but was traced to Nigeria.
A Global Network of Political Influence
Further scrutiny revealed a pattern of geographical deception. A profile sharing news about White House Border Czar Tom Homan told its 31,400 followers it was based in Virginia and had voted for Trump. In reality, it was operating from a non-EU country in Eastern Europe.
The scale of this operation is substantial. AmericanPatriot, a account with 143,300 followers that posts MAGA content and claims to be in Florida, is actually based in Chile. Another major account, Fan Trump Army, which boasts 589,600 followers and was quote-tweeted by President Trump himself on Truth Social, was found to be operating from South Asia. This account later updated its biography to "an Indian who loves America".
The phenomenon extends to influencers using the names and photographs of Trump family members. Barron Trump News, an account with a massive 583,700 followers, was also discovered to be based in Eastern Europe.
Platform Response and Wider Implications
In response to these findings, Nikita Bier, the head of product at X, announced on Saturday that the platform would roll out a new feature showing the country or region where an account is based. He stated, "This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square. We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X." The move includes privacy toggles for users in countries where speech carries penalties.
This push for transparency was widely celebrated on the platform. The investigation also revealed that the issue is not confined to one political sphere. Pro-Democrat accounts were found to be operating from African nations like Kenya, and pro-Israel profiles were also traced to India, among other countries.
