X’s recently launched location transparency feature has revealed that numerous prominent U.S. political accounts, including many pro-Trump supporters, are actually operated from outside the United States, misleading followers about their true locations.
This has raised concerns about the authenticity of political interactions on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The new “about this account” tab displays users’ locations, account creation dates, and username change histories. Though X claims the data is “99% accurate,” the company acknowledges potential errors due to recent travel or VPN usage. Despite this, investigations found many influential pro-Trump accounts originate from countries including India and Nigeria.
For example, the account “TRUMP_ARMY_,” with over half a million followers, was based in India and had changed its username several times. Another account, “IvankaNews_,” with over a million followers, was found to be operated from Nigeria. These accounts have garnered significant engagement that could translate into earnings via X’s monetisation programme, which rewards users based on post interactions.
The issue extends beyond pro-Trump accounts, with anti-Trump profiles also found to be foreign-based while posing as Americans. One account with 52,000 followers, declaring itself a “proud Democrat” and “professional Maga hunter,” was tracked to Kenya before being deleted. Several accounts claiming to support Scottish independence were discovered to access X from Iran, their apparent locations masked by VPNs.
Many such accounts hold X’s blue verification tick, indicating Premium subscriptions that allow monetisation. Experts like Alexios Mantzarlis from Cornell Tech argue these blue ticks primarily function as revenue sources rather than true verification, worsening misinformation. However, features like “community notes” that let users add context to posts show X’s efforts toward transparency.
Research shows a mix of motives behind location deception. Some accounts are troll farms or state-backed efforts aiming to influence politics, while others exploit culture wars for profit.
Despite the new feature, experts expect bad actors will adapt by using VPNs or adjusting account creation to appear U.S.-based, continuing to shape political discourse covertly.