A new transparency feature on X has revealed that a number of high-profile accounts associated with the “Make America Great Again” (Maga) movement are operated from outside the United States, including from Russia, Nigeria, India, Thailand and other parts of Asia.
The function, branded “About this account”, began rolling out to users’ profiles last week. It allows anyone to see an account’s stated location, the date it joined the platform, how often its username has been changed and how the X app was originally downloaded, such as via the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Once the feature became widely visible, users quickly began testing prominent political accounts. Several profiles that present themselves as American conservatives or Maga activists were shown as being based abroad, raising questions about the authenticity of some voices in the US culture-war debate.
Among the accounts highlighted were “MAGANationX”, which bills itself as a “patriot voice for ‘We the People’” and has several hundred thousand followers. According to reporting based on the new tool, the account is operated from eastern Europe. Another, “IvankaNews”, an Ivanka Trump fan account with around a million followers that regularly posts content on immigration, Islam and support for Donald Trump, appears to be based in Nigeria.
Smaller but still influential accounts were also implicated. “Dark Maga”, with roughly 15,000 followers, appears to operate from Thailand, while “MAGA Scope” (more than 50,000 followers) is reported to be run from Nigeria, and “MAGA Beacon” from elsewhere in south Asia.
The discoveries were crowdsourced in real time. US-based commentators on X shared screenshots of location panels, while users on Reddit compiled examples of accounts whose bios claimed to be from US states but which appeared in the tool as being located overseas. Some liberal influencers described the revelations as confirmation of long-standing suspicions about foreign participation in pro-Trump online ecosystems, although there is no single verified explanation for why these operators are active.
The company presents the feature as part of a broader attempt to tackle bots, AI-generated activity and coordinated inauthentic behaviour on the platform. X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, first flagged the idea in October, saying users should be able to verify essential facts about accounts posting on sensitive topics. Similar tools already exist on some rival platforms, such as Instagram’s own “about this account” panel.
To access the information on X, users tap or click on the “Joined” date on a profile. A separate page then displays the account’s creation date, apparent operating country or wider region, the number and timing of username changes and how the account is connected to the service. X says the purpose is to provide context so that individuals can decide for themselves how much weight to give to particular accounts, especially those involved in political arguments.
The rollout has not been without problems. Some users have complained that the locations shown are inaccurate, in some cases apparently because of virtual private networks (VPNs) or travel. Parts of the feature were briefly disabled and then restored, and X has since added warnings advising that location data may be affected by VPN usage and that details can change if a user moves.
Privacy advocates have also raised concerns that automatically displaying locations may put some users at risk, particularly journalists, activists or dissidents in authoritarian states, even if the platform allows a degree of opt-out or regional rather than national labelling. X has indicated that certain official government accounts may be exempted from location display on security grounds.
The exposure of foreign-based Maga-branded accounts fits into a wider pattern of online political influence campaigns. Social networks have, in previous years, removed networks linked to Russia, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and others for attempting to shape political debates abroad, including in the United States. Analysts note that not all such activity is necessarily state-directed; in some cases, operators may simply be pursuing engagement and advertising revenue.
The new tool therefore serves several constituencies at once: researchers monitoring information operations, ordinary users seeking to evaluate the sources in their feeds, and political actors keen to demonstrate that their opponents’ support may be bolstered by overseas networks. At the same time, the accuracy issues and safety criticisms have prompted calls for clearer safeguards and more transparency about how location signals are derived.
As X continues to refine “About this account”, the feature is likely to remain a focal point in debates about foreign influence, anonymity and political speech online. With further US elections ahead and political polarisation entrenched, the question of who is really behind the loudest voices on social media is unlikely to disappear.
