A sweeping new update on Elon Musk’s X is pulling back the curtain on some of the platform’s most popular political voices — and revealing that many are not posting from where they claim.
According to Fox News, the feature, rolled out Friday, gives every user the ability to see the country or region from which an account is operating. Within hours, several high-profile accounts branding themselves as American conservatives, patriots, or constitutionalists were exposed as being based overseas.
One account, @1776General_, has more than 140,000 followers and describes its owner as a “constitutionalist, patriot and ethnically American.” The biography asserts the account is U.S.-based, but X now shows that the user is actually posting from Turkey.
The account holder addressed the revelation shortly after the update went live. “I work in international business. I’m currently working in Turkey on a contract,” the owner wrote.
Another large account, @AmericanVoice__, had accumulated more than 200,000 followers before it was revealed that the feature was operating from South Asia. Soon after the disclosure, the owners deleted the account entirely.
Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, said the new feature is designed to help users judge whether what they are seeing is genuine.
“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.
But the trend is not confined to U.S. political accounts.
X users also discovered that several profiles claiming to document alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza are posting from locations far from the conflict. One of the most prominent, Motasm A Dalloul — known on X as @AbujomaaGaza — identifies as a “Gaza-based journalist” and has more than 197,000 followers. X lists his location as Poland.
Dalloul rejected accusations that he was misleading his audience, sharing a video Saturday that appeared to show him reporting from inside Gaza. Users have since debated whether the footage is authentic or digitally manipulated.
Another influential account, Quds News Network (@QudsNen), describes itself as the “largest independent Palestinian youth news network” and boasts over 600,000 followers. The page lists its location as “Palestine,” but X reports it is actually based in Egypt. By contrast, X does identify some users as posting from “Palestine,” including American-Palestinian journalist Mariam Barghouti.
The Times of Gaza (@Timesofgaza), which regularly posts updates on the conflict and has nearly one million followers, also drew scrutiny. It presents itself as reporting from “occupied Palestine,” but X places the account in “East Asia and the Pacific.”
X officials have acknowledged that the feature is not foolproof. Users employing VPNs can mask their real locations, and in cases where a VPN is detected, X adds a warning next to the displayed region.
Still, the update is already reshaping how many X users interpret the information flooding their feeds — and raising new questions about who is really behind some of the platform’s most influential voices.
