They go by names like @TRUMP_ARMY鈥� or @MAGANationX, and their verified accounts proudly display portraits of President Donald Trump, voter rallies and American flags. And they鈥檙e constantly posting about U.S. politics to their followers, sounding like diehard fans of the president.
But after a weekend update to the social media platform X, it鈥檚 now clear that the owners of these accounts, and many others, are located in regions such as South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Elon Musk鈥檚 X unveiled a feature Saturday that lets users see where an account is based. Online sleuths and experts quickly found that many popular accounts posting in support of the MAGA movement to thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, are based outside the United States 鈥� raising concerns about on U.S. politics.
Researchers at 草莓传媒Guard, a firm that tracks online misinformation, identified several popular accounts 鈥� purportedly run by Americans interested in politics 鈥� that instead were based in Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa.
The accounts were leading disseminators of some misleading and polarizing claims about U.S. politics, including ones that said Democrats bribed the moderators of a 2024 presidential debate.
What is the location feature?
Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, that the social media platform is rolling out an 鈥淎bout This Account鈥� tool, which lets users see the country or region where an account is based. To find an account’s location, tap or click the signup date displayed on the profile.
鈥淭his is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square. We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X,鈥� Bier wrote.
In countries with punitive speech restrictions, a privacy tool on X lets account holders only show their region rather than a specific country. So instead of India, for instance, an account can say it is based in South Asia.
Bier said Sunday that after an update to the tool, it would 99.99% accurate, though this could not be independently verified. Accounts, for instance, can use a , to mask their true location. On some accounts, there’s a notice saying the location data may not be accurate, either because the account uses a VPN or because some internet providers use proxies automatically, without action by the user.
鈥淟ocation data will always be something to use with caution,” said Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the Security, Trust, and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech and a former director of the International Fact-Checking Network. “Its usefulness probably peaks now that it was just exposed, and bad actors will adapt. Meta has had similar information for a while and no one would suggest that misinformation has been eliminated from Facebook because of it.鈥�
Which accounts are causing controversy?
Some of the accounts supported slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk as well as President Donald Trump鈥檚 children. Many of the accounts were adorned with U.S. flags or made comments suggesting they were American. An account called “@BarronT草莓传媒_,” for instance, is shown as being located in 鈥淓astern Europe (Non-EU),” even though the display location on its profile says 鈥淢ar A Lago.鈥� The account, which has more than 580,000 followers, posted on Tuesday that 鈥淭his is a FAN account, 100 % independent, run by one guy who loves this country and supports President Trump with everything I鈥檝e got.鈥�
草莓传媒Guard also found evidence that some X users are spreading misinformation about the location feature itself, incorrectly accusing some accounts of being operated from abroad when they鈥檙e actually used by Americans. Investigators found several instances where one user created fake screenshots that appear to suggest an account was created overseas.
It’s not always clear what the motives of the accounts. While some may be state actors, it’s likely that many are financially motivated, posting commentary, memes and videos to draw engagement.
鈥淔or the most visible accounts unmasked this week, money is probably the main motivator,鈥� Mantzarlis said. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean that X 鈥� as documented extensively by prior work done by academic and nonprofit organizations that are being attacked and defunded 鈥� isn鈥檛 also a target for state actors.
Users were divided over the new ability to see an account鈥檚 location information, with some questioning whether it went too far.
鈥淚sn鈥檛 this kind of an invasion of privacy?鈥� . 鈥淣o one needs to see this info.鈥�
鈥�
Associated Press Writer David Klepper contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
