{"id":969,"date":"2025-11-25T08:42:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T08:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=969"},"modified":"2025-11-25T08:42:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T08:42:40","slug":"xs-new-location-feature-exposes-fake-accounts-worldwide-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=969","title":{"rendered":"X\u2019s new location feature exposes fake accounts worldwide \u2013 here\u2019s how"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Elon Musk<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0social media<\/a>\u00a0network has made a sweeping new change, now allowing users to see where each\u00a0X<\/a>\u00a0account is based.<\/p>\n

Nikita Bier, X\u2019s head of product, announced the changes in October, saying it would \u2018secure the integrity of the global town square\u2019.<\/p>\n

But it appears to have unmasked dozens of foreign accounts masquerading as pro-American.<\/p>\n

One account, called \u2018MAGA NATION\u2019, boasts hundreds of thousands of followers, often sharing pro-Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0narratives and sparking discourse.<\/p>\n

But the new feature has revealed that, unlike what the person is claiming, they aren\u2019t a red-blooded American. Rather, the account operates out of a non-EU Eastern European country.<\/p>\n

Another, called \u2018America First\u2019, appears to be based in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Other Trump supporter and MAGA accounts sharing photos of models who allegedly support Trump are based out of Thailand.<\/p>\n

Many of the photos of these \u2018pro-Trump\u2019 women are stolen from European influencers \u2013 but the damage from these accounts is already done.<\/p>\n

Even the\u00a0US<\/a>\u00a0Department of Homeland Security\u2019s X account was revealed to be based in\u00a0Israel<\/a>, but they didn\u2019t seem to understand the severity of the situation.<\/p>\n

Professor Harith Alani, Director of the Knowledge Media Institute, told BAD VIBES MAGAZINE\u00a0<\/strong>that researchers have been trying to analyse X posts for misinformation through identifying location for years, but it\u2019s a tricky process.<\/p>\n

He points out: \u2018For sophisticated users or state-sponsored actions, they would use something like a VPN, and they could easily get around this identification of place. So, I don\u2019t think the new feature is going to solve anything in terms of misinformation.<\/p>\n

\u2018But this doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t help at all. If we start to see a better picture in terms of where misinformation is circulating in different parts of the world and whether things are getting more traction here than there, it would help not only us understand the landscape, but also we might have a better idea of how to counter misinformation.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Even if many of these accounts are proven to be bad actors posing as certain nationalities, Professor Alani says he isn\u2019t certain that it will change people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n

\u2018Research shows that people are always trying to confirm their biases,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Even if they discover that the person they\u2019ve been trusting and following is not from where they appear to be, they will simply find another account which is from the country and still saying the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u2018We as humans are very good at convincing ourselves of things even if all the evidence points in the other direction.\u2019<\/p>\n

What implications does revealing the location of social media accounts have for users\u2019 privacy?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some have raised worries that the new location feature could expose dissidents or people posting in countries where free speech is severely limited.<\/p>\n

But the location feature does not expose any in-depth information about the location to users, and they can choose if it\u2019s by country or region.<\/p>\n

IP addresses can generally be found if someone isn\u2019t using a VPN, but if they are, it\u2019s harder to find someone\u2019s exact address or location \u2013 making these worries a bit less.<\/p>\n

Professor Alani says he\u2019s curious about what X\u2019s intentions are in bringing forth this new update.<\/p>\n

\u2018Is this a real move towards transparency and trustworthiness? If so, would location be the best way to do this?\u2019 he asks.<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t think it can be trusted 100%, but it would probably give us a better idea about misinformation than what we can see now.\u2019<\/p>\n

Where can I find the location feature?<\/h2>\n

If you go to your profile, or any other profile, click the portion of the bio reading \u2018Joined ____\u2019.<\/p>\n

There, it should show you what date you joined and where your account is based.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elon Musk\u2019s\u00a0social media\u00a0network has made a sweeping new change, now allowing users to see where each\u00a0X\u00a0account is based. Nikita Bier, X\u2019s head of product, announced the changes in October, saying it would \u2018secure the integrity of the global town square\u2019. But it appears to have unmasked dozens of foreign accounts masquerading as pro-American. One account, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t