"When X rolled out a new feature revealing the locations of popular accounts, the company was acting to boost transparency and clamp down on disinformation. The result, however, has been a circular firing squad of recriminations, as users turn on each other enraged by the revelation that dozens of popular America first and pro-Trump accounts originated overseas. The new feature was enabled over the weekend by X's head of product, Nikita Bier,"
"Since then many high-engagement accounts that post incessantly about US politics have been unmasked by fellow users. An Ivanka Trump fan account that posts about illegal immigration to the US was shown to be based in Nigeria. MAGAStorm, spreading conspiracy theories about the assassination attempt on Trump, was found to be in eastern Europe. AmericanVoice which posts anti-Islam content, is based in India."
X added a feature showing account locations, sparking users to reveal that many popular America-first and pro-Trump accounts operate from abroad. Specific accounts were traced to Nigeria, eastern Europe, India and Thailand. Investigations found networks posing as young American women using stolen influencer images, sometimes altered with pro-Trump clothing. Some accounts pair pro-Trump messaging with anti-Islam content and exploit societal tensions to amplify engagement. Experts disagree on whether these are state-backed influence operations or opportunistic monetisation of rage bait. The feature was presented as a step toward securing the integrity of the global town square.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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