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A groundbreaking new feature on Elon Musk’s X platform is fundamentally altering how users perceive online information, pulling back the curtain on accounts that have been misleading their followers about their true geographical origins. This update is revealing surprising discrepancies across a wide spectrum of political and news-focused profiles, challenging the authenticity of many popular voices.
The recently launched functionality now allows any X user to scrutinize an account’s declared location, typically displaying a country or region. Since its rollout on Friday, this tool has rapidly exposed numerous popular accounts, particularly those positioning themselves as American “patriots” or “constitutionalists,” as operating from foreign nations.
One notable instance involves the account @1776General_, boasting over 140,000 followers. Its biography proudly states the owner is a “constitutionalist, patriot and ethnically American,” claiming a U.S. base. However, X’s new feature pinpoints the account’s actual location as Turkey. The owner later posted an explanation, stating, “I work in international business. I’m currently working in Turkey on a contract.”
Another high-profile account, @AmericanVoice__, which had amassed over 200,000 followers, was similarly unmasked as being run from South Asia. Following this revelation, the account was promptly deleted by its owners, highlighting the immediate impact of the new transparency.
Combating Misinformation and Verifying Authenticity
Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, emphasized the critical importance of this feature in empowering users to discern authentic information from their feeds.
“When you read content on X, you should be able to verify its authenticity. This is critical for staying informed about important issues happening in the world. Part of this is showing new information in accounts, including the country an account is located in, among other things,” Bier explained.
Beyond U.S. Politics: Gaza Narratives Under Scrutiny
The implications of X’s location feature extend far beyond domestic American political discourse. It has also brought into question the veracity of many accounts purporting to report from Gaza on alleged Israeli war crimes.
Motasm A Dalloul, operating under the handle @AbujomaaGaza, describes himself as a “Gaza-based journalist” and has attracted over 197,000 followers. Yet, X’s data indicates that Dalloul is posting from Poland. Dalloul has contested these claims, sharing a video on Saturday that he asserts shows him on the ground in Gaza, though the authenticity of this video has become a point of contention among users, with many debating potential digital alterations.
Another influential Palestinian-related account, the Quds News Network (@QudsNen), proudly declares itself the “largest independent Palestinian youth news network” and commands over 600,000 followers. While its profile lists its location as “Palestine,” X’s feature reveals the account is actually based in Egypt. This stands in contrast to other accounts, such as that of American-Palestinian journalist Mariam Barghouti, which X correctly lists as originating from Palestine.
Similarly, the account Times of Gaza (@Timesofgaza), with nearly one million followers, claims to provide “latest news updates and top stories from occupied Palestine.” However, X identifies its base as “East Asia and the Pacific.”
X representatives have clarified that while the new feature is robust, users employing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) could potentially spoof their true location. In such instances, X has implemented a warning label adjacent to the listed location, indicating that a VPN has been detected to provide additional context to users.