Elon Musk's social media platform X has launched a new feature designed to improve transparency, but it has inadvertently revealed that dozens of prominent MAGA-branded accounts are operating from outside the United States.
Transparency Tool Unveils Surprising Locations
The recently introduced 'About This Account' tool allows any user to see the country or region where an account is based by simply tapping on the signup date displayed on a profile. X stated that this move was "an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square", aiming to help users verify the authenticity of the content they encounter.
However, users quickly discovered that the feature was showing unexpected locations for several right-wing influencers who claim to be based in the US. One prominent account, using the handle 'MAGA Nation' and boasting nearly 400,000 followers, was shown to be situated in Eastern Europe. Another account, 'UltraMAGA Trump 2028', was identified as being based in Nigeria. That particular account has since been suspended.
Reactions and Accuracy Concerns
The revelations prompted immediate reaction from political commentators. Democratic influencer Harry Sisson wrote, "Seeing all of these MAGA accounts get exposed as foreign actors trying to destroy the United States is a complete vindication of Democrats, like myself and many on here, who have been warning about this."
Despite the startling findings, the new feature was also criticised for displaying apparent inaccuracies. The tool incorrectly located US internet personality Hank Green in Japan and showed Massachusetts-based software maker Avid Pro Tools as being in Spain.
In response to these reports, X acknowledged the problems. The company's head of product, Nikita Bier, stated in a post that there were "a few rough edges that will be resolved by Tuesday". He added that if any data was incorrect, it would be "updated periodically based on the best available information". Shortly after the launch, X removed the registration country from user profiles due to the data not being 100 per cent accurate for older accounts.
The rollout of this tool, occurring on Monday 24 November 2025, has ignited a fresh debate about foreign influence on social media and the challenges platforms face in providing accurate transparency data.
