A new feature on Elon Musk’s X revealed a potentially awkward truth about some of the loudest right-wing voices on the platform.
The “About this Account” feature, which was announced in October but launched globally over the weekend, is aimed at “securing the integrity of the global town square,” according to a Saturday announcement by X’s head of product, Nikita Bier.
Yet following the rollout, one of the most noteworthy details the feature revealed was that some Make America Great Again accounts, including those with thousands of followers, are based outside of the U.S.—at least according to the “About this Account” feature.
Hours later, X removed some information about where accounts were created, and Bier also stepped in with a post to say the data were “not 100%.”
By the end of the day, Bier posted: “I need a drink.”
X did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.
One account, MAGA NATION, with more than 400,000 followers and “America First” in its bio, is reportedly based in a non-EU Eastern European nation, according to X. Another, @maga47amara, which had more than 7,000 followers, was revealed to be based in Thailand. That account was no longer available as of Monday.
Other parody accounts using names and handles that reference Trump family members or administration officials also had their locations outed. One account with 168,000 followers that sports a profile picture and header featuring White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, was revealed to be based in Hong Kong. And an Ivanka Trump fan account, IvankaNews, with more than 1 million followers, was found to be based in Nigeria. That account was suspended as of Monday.
Some left-leaning influencers jumped at the opportunity to call attention to the right-wing accounts based abroad, including Harry Sisson, who posted on X that, “This is easily one of the greatest days on this platform.” He later posted several screenshots of conservative accounts reportedly based abroad.
It’s unclear whether all the information about where an X account is based is foolproof. There have been some errors. For example, YouTuber and author Hank Green’s verified X account says it is based in Japan.
The locations could be inaccurate if people in the U.S. created their accounts while traveling abroad or use a VPN.
Still, the newly outed locations of some right-leaning X accounts squares with previous findings of misinformation peddled by other countries.
There is no evidence of links between foreign state actors and the most recently discovered accounts based abroad, yet a trove of evidence has previously found that adversaries like Russia and China spread propaganda via fake accounts on X.
While the rollout may have been bumpy, X’s Bier said in a follow-up post Sunday that the feature’s issues were on their way to being worked out.
“Upgrade coming in 12 hours. Accuracy will be nearly 99.99%,” he wrote.
-1024x768.jpg "Red Snapper Used as Cudgel by Fed Judge")
