A recent update on Elon Musk’s platform X has exposed an awkward reality for some of its most prominent right-wing personalities: Many appear to be operating from outside the United States.
The update centers on a tool called “About this Account,” announced in October and rolled out globally over the weekend. In a Saturday post, X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, said the feature is intended to help “secure the integrity of the global town square.”
But once live, one of the most eye-catching details it surfaced was that several high-profile Make America Great Again–branded accounts, including ones with large followings, were shown as being based overseas.
Within hours, X removed some of the location information about where accounts were created, and Bier weighed in to clarify that the data was “not 100%” accurate. By the end of the day, he posted: “I need a drink.”
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune.
One account, MAGA NATION, which has more than 400,000 followers and lists “America First” in its bio, was shown as being based in a non-EU Eastern European country, according to X’s tool. Another account, @maga47amara, with more than 7,000 followers, was flagged as being based in Thailand. That account was no longer accessible as of Monday.
The feature also surfaced locations for multiple parody or fan accounts referencing Trump family members or administration officials. An account with 168,000 followers that uses both a profile photo and header image of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was listed as being based in Hong Kong. An Ivanka Trump fan account, IvankaNews, with more than 1 million followers, was shown as being based in Nigeria; that account had been suspended by Monday.
Left-leaning influencers quickly seized on the revelations. Commentator Harry Sisson posted on X: “This is easily one of the greatest days on this platform,” later sharing multiple screenshots of conservative-leaning accounts whose locations were reportedly outside the U.S.
It’s still unclear how reliable the location data is. There have already been visible errors—for instance, the verified X account of YouTuber and author Hank Green currently shows as being based in Japan.
There are also benign explanations for some discrepancies. A user’s listed location could be affected if they created an account while traveling abroad, or if they routinely use a VPN that routes traffic through another country.
Even so, the apparent presence of right-wing U.S. political accounts operating from overseas aligns with earlier research showing how foreign actors engage in online influence campaigns. While there is no evidence that the newly flagged accounts are tied to foreign governments, past investigations have documented how adversaries such as Russia and China have used fake accounts on X to spread propaganda and misinformation.
Despite the messy debut, Bier suggested the feature is being refined quickly. In a follow-up post on Sunday, he wrote: “Upgrade coming in 12 hours. Accuracy will be nearly 99.99%.”
