A new transparency feature on X has revealed that many prominent accounts in the “Make America Great Again” movement are operated from outside the United States, including from Russia, Nigeria, and Eastern Europe.
The feature, called “About This Account,” launched on Friday, November 22, and allows users to see where an account is based, when it joined the platform, how often its username has been changed, and how the X app was downloaded.
Almost immediately after the rollout, users began investigating popular political accounts and uncovered numerous cases of MAGA influencers who presented themselves as patriotic Americans but were actually operating from abroad.
Foreign-Operated Accounts Exposed
The Daily Beast reported several high-profile examples. MAGANationX, an account with nearly 400,000 followers and a bio reading “Patriot Voice for We The People,” is actually based in Eastern Europe. IvankaNews, an Ivanka Trump fan account with about 1 million followers that frequently posts about illegal immigration and Islam, is operated from Nigeria.
Other accounts uncovered include Dark Maga (Thailand), MAGA Scope (Nigeria), and MAGA Beacon (South Asia), according to NBC News.
“This is easily one of the greatest days on this platform,” wrote Democratic influencer Harry Sisson. “Seeing all of these MAGA accounts get exposed as foreign actors trying to destroy the United States is a complete vindication of Democrats, like myself and many on here, who have been warning about this.”
Financial Incentives
The revelation has raised questions about why foreign operators would pose as American political influencers. X pays content creators for posts that drive engagement from verified premium accounts, providing financial incentives to create divisive political content. For people in countries like Nigeria or Bangladesh, the American dollars earned through X can be significant.
Feature Limitations
Nikita Bier, X’s head of product development, acknowledged that the new feature has “a few rough edges,” particularly around location accuracy. Account locations can be masked using VPNs, which the company plans to address.
NBC News noted that the tool was briefly taken down hours after launch, with some users speculating the exposure of foreign-operated accounts may have played a role. However, it has since been reinstated.
The use of fake accounts to influence American politics is not new. The Centre for Information Resilience, an independent research organization, flagged similar tactics during the 2024 election. Wired reported that President Trump has continued boosting several of these foreign-operated accounts even after they were exposed.
By
By
