X’s Location Tool Sparks Confusion After MAGA Accounts Seemingly Appear Abroad
US social media company X faced online confusion after its new location-revealing tool appeared to show some accounts supporting President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement as being based outside the United States, NBC News reported Monday. The feature, teased last month by X’s head of product Nikita Bier, was designed to help users verify content authenticity and curb the influence of troll farms, which often operate political accounts from outside the countries they target.
Once the tool went live, users quickly noticed that several high-engagement MAGA accounts, which present themselves as patriotic Americans, appeared to be based in countries including Eastern Europe, Thailand, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. Users also claimed that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) account showed a location in the Zionist entity, with screenshots and videos circulating online. The account location feature was removed Friday night.
Both DHS and Bier denied the claims on Sunday, labeling them as misinformation. “I can’t believe we have to say this, but this account has only ever been run and operated from the United States,” DHS said, warning that screenshots and videos are easy to manipulate. Bier added that the tool still has “a few rough edges” and that any incorrect data would be updated periodically on a delayed, randomized schedule to protect user privacy, with fixes expected by Tuesday.
