Over the weekend, a new feature on X demonstrated that a number of pro-Trump accounts with significant followings are actually not based in the US, despite their content and some profile descriptions creating that impression. On X profiles, clicking on the account’s creation date now displays the country or region where it is located. Users can enable a privacy setting to see only the region, not the specific country. CNN was unable to independently confirm the location of these accounts. This discovery not only highlights how many foreign entities engage in using social media to attempt to influence American society but also shows how such influence operations may intensify in the future—especially when there are significant financial incentives for accounts to strive for maximizing user engagement. X’s Head of Product, Nima Ashkenazi, stated that this change “is an important first step toward ensuring the integrity of the global public square. We plan to provide users with many more ways to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X.” Almost immediately, users began identifying accounts, many of which support President Donald Trump and his policies, but are not registered in the United States. The account MAGA Nation, with nearly 400,000 followers, claims to be the “Voice of America First” and a “Patriotic Megaphone for the People.” Its feed is filled with pro-Trump news, commentary, and engagement-driving posts, such as polls. However, the X account information indicates it is based in Eastern Europe (outside the EU). A user named “America First,” using a photo of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, states in their description: “Promoting Good, Resisting Evil!!” “Good Morning X! God Bless America!” the account posted on November 17th. But this account, with over 67,000 followers, is registered in Bangladesh. Many of these accounts share common traits: general pro-American symbolism and photos of Trump, his family, or members of his administration. Posts cover current news, reposted clips from other media, as well as questions or polls to drive replies—engagement that can lead to higher payouts from X. Trump himself has reposted these accounts several times on his platform Truth Social. On Sunday, he reposted a post from the account “Commentary Donald J. Trump” which asked, “Would you support banning anyone born overseas from running for office? Yes or No” over a picture of Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh. This account, meanwhile, is based in Africa. Ashkenazi cautioned that the feature is not completely reliable, as travel and the use of VPNs can affect the location displayed for accounts. However, experts believe it is not surprising that so many accounts featuring American political content, some with huge audiences, turn out to be registered outside the US. “We have a history of foreigners attempting to use social media for foreign influence… and there are many reasons to expect foreign actors would want to interfere in politics, both for political and economic motives,” Joshua Tucker, a professor in the Department of Politics at New York University, told CNN. For example, during the 2016 presidential election, the Russian government supported efforts to influence the political discourse online through fake personas and accounts. But there is also a financial incentive, as X pays creators on its platform based on engagement. The more followers an account has and the more actively those followers interact with the content, the higher the payouts. And political content performs well online, noted Jacob Shapiro, a professor of Politics and International Relations at Princeton University. “There are people who use many different topics that grab attention, and thus generate revenue and monetization through advertising, and there are those who pursue political goals—both well-meaning ones trying to promote various social justice issues, and more hostile foreign countries with organizations whose mission is to try to shape US policy,” Shapiro said. X did not provide comment in response to the request. The implications of this feature go beyond exposing foreign accounts seeking to profit from influencing American politics. X is blocked in Iran, although Iranians can bypass the ban using VPNs. However, Radio Free Europe noted that the new feature reveals which Iran-based accounts do not require a VPN because they are permitted to use the network. According to the BBC, a number of accounts promoting Scottish independence were found to be based in the Netherlands but accessing X via an Android app in Iran. Researchers have previously reported that Iran supports a network of online influence advocating for Scottish independence. The incentives for X to disclose user locations may not be solely about transparency, according to Shapiro. “I think X and many other companies have an existential problem brewing: it’s getting harder to distinguish a real person from an AI agent. And it’s unclear if advertisers are willing to pay for the attention of AI agents,” Shapiro said. “There is a real interest for companies to be able to separate the real from the unreal, and the same goes for users.”
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