X’s location feature shows some MAGA accounts abroad, stirring debate
A new feature on US social media platform X, designed to show user locations, has sparked online debate after some accounts supporting President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement appeared to be based outside the United States.
The feature, teased last month by X’s head of product Nikita Bier, aims to help users verify content authenticity and reduce the influence of troll farms—accounts often run from foreign countries to manipulate political conversations, News.Az reports, citing Turkish media.
Once the location feature went live, users noticed that many high-profile MAGA accounts, which present themselves as patriotic Americans, appeared to be operating from countries such as Eastern Europe, Thailand, Nigeria, and Bangladesh.
Additionally, users claimed that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) account was shown as based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Images and videos shared online fueled confusion before X removed the location feature on Friday night.
Both the DHS and X’s Bier denied the claims, 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,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Screenshots are easy to forge, videos are easy to manipulate. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Bier acknowledged that the tool still has “a few rough edges” and said any inaccuracies would be updated periodically. She explained the feature uses a delayed, randomized schedule to preserve user privacy, meaning location information might not be immediately accurate.
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