X's new location transparency feature unleashes questions about origins of MAGA accounts

A new transparency feature on X has stirred confusion, anger and a wave of online sleuthing after users discovered that the platform was suddenly displaying the surprising locations where certain accounts are based.

Over the weekend, users noticed that clicking an account’s join date now opens a tab that shows the country or region in which the account is located.

X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, teased the feature last month as a way to help users verify the authenticity of content they read and limit the influence of troll farms, which often run political accounts from outside the countries they target.

But as soon as the feature appeared live for users, X was flooded with viral posts showing that numerous high-engagement, MAGA-branded accounts that present themselves as those of pat