"They go by names like @TRUMP_ARMY- or @MAGANationX, and their verified accounts proudly display portraits of President Donald Trump, voter rallies, and American flags. And they're 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's 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's 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-raising concerns about foreign influence on U.S. politics. Researchers at NewsGuard, a firm that tracks online misinformation, identified several popular accounts-purportedly run by Americans interested in politics-that instead were based in Eastern Europe, Asia, or Africa."
X added an "About This Account" tool that shows the country or region where an account is based. The new feature revealed that numerous popular accounts presenting as U.S. MAGA supporters are actually based in South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Researchers identified several high-following accounts that disseminated misleading and polarizing claims about U.S. politics, including allegations that Democrats bribed debate moderators. In countries with punitive speech restrictions, account holders can display only a region rather than a specific country. X framed the tool as a step toward verifying content authenticity and securing the global town square.
Read at Fast Company
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