X's new geolocation tool is exposing waves of social media influencing by unknown foreign powers.
Last weekend, X released the geolocation of major and influential accounts and discovered fake postings from sites claiming to be U.S.-based.
Notably, many were so-called "MAGA" accounts that appeared to support President Donald Trump and his policies, but often posted critically of Israel and Ukraine.
"I have long said foreign actors are using social media to poison our politics and divide Americans," former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley posted on X. "The location feature on X is a huge win for transparency and American security."
For example, the X account "ULTRAMAGA 🇺🇸 TRUMP🇺🇸2028," says it's in Washington, but actually operates from Nigeria.
Another account boldly declared its name as "Trump Is My President" — but is based in Macedonia.
Elon Musk, owner of X, has long complained of phony bots and operators trying to scam his social media platform.
Nikita Bier, X's head of product, heralded the tool as "a revolution in account verification," saying it would help people identify manipulated or falsely located profiles, distinguish bots from humans, and "detect coordinated or funded manipulation efforts."
Now that the rock has been lifted, users have discovered a lot of digital worms.
For example, a sprawling network of accounts pushing anti-Israel propaganda and claims of "genocide," including imagery of alleged Israeli atrocities posted by Gazans, but they weren't.
The "Times of Gaza," with nearly a million followers, claims to provide "latest news updates and top stories from occupied Palestine," but X discovered it is based in "East Asia & Pacific."
Others posed as conservative Americans furious with Trump for his support of the U.S.-Israel alliance.
One account, "@CounterAIPAC," which calls itself "a grassroots movement advocating for balanced U.S. policies in the Middle East," was revealed to be based in Egypt, despite presenting itself as a U.S. movement.
Its owner protested afterward, saying, "My location has nothing to do with my anti-Zionist and anti-supremacy position."
A number of high-engagement anti-Israel accounts claiming to be MAGA voters — designed to fracture the movement and undermine Trump administration support for Prime Minister Netanyahu — were flagged as coming from Turkey, Africa, or Asia.
There was a significant rise in negative social media posts before Israel's attack on its nuclear sites in June.
Many accounts, posing as right-leaning supporters of Trump, had been encouraging the U.S. to not support Israel in any attack on Iran's nuclear sites.
Supporters of Israel have erupted in response to the foreign manipulation.
"Literally every single commentary account that spreads nonstop lies is foreign," wrote U.S.-based pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby, who has posted extensive lists documenting how many supposed Gaza, U.S. Jewish, or conservative accounts are actually operating from overseas.
Eitan Fischberger, an Israel-based former IDF sergeant, argued that many of the foreign accounts "have been subverting the US by flooding X with anti-American, anti-Israel, demoralizing, or Marxist content aimed specifically at Americans."
U.S.-based Arab commentator Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib said the feature had exposed a coordinated operation spanning multiple countries.
"It's been truly revealing to see some of the most incendiary, divisive, hateful, and inflammatory accounts ... being revealed as fronts for PsyOps & misinformation by fakesters in Qatar, Turkey, Yemen, Pakistan and elsewhere," he wrote.
He called out "Muslim Brotherhood-adjacent" and pro-Hamas networks for pushing "venom, threats & vile content online at the behest of their masters."
The revelations fueled claims that hostile foreign actors are trying to manipulate U.S. political divisions, especially by fabricating the idea that MAGA voters are embracing antisemitism or rejecting Israel.
The Israeli government has singled out Qatar for funding much of the social media campaigns that have targeted Israel.
A high-level source close to Netanyahu's government said Qataris recently have been warned multiple times about these activities.
Author Saul Sadka accused the legacy press of being duped by foreign operatives, arguing that fake Gaza accounts "are hurting the reputations of mainstream media outlets ... clearly without even the minimum due diligence."
Commentator Dave Rubin wrote "This is an absolutely massive story of foreign ops shaping our political and cultural discourse ... Stay tuned!"
Radio host Mark Levin praised Elon Musk for "making the location of posters publicly known," saying users can now "see all the scum from throughout the world posting vile comments about America, Israel, etc.," and blasting podcasters and media outlets for spreading their narratives.
Ukraine in the Crosshairs
Israel was not alone as a target for fake MAGA accounts, with Ukraine often a major subject for X posts promoting baseless reports or making bold, false claims.
The anti-Ukrainian MAGA accounts operated from countries like Eastern Europe, Nigeria, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Russia.
Often these accounts amplify "America First" rhetoric to criticize aid to Ukraine as wasteful, corrupt, or a threat to U.S. interests.
Their content typically portrays Ukraine aid as theft of American taxpayer money, ties it to Democrat scandals, and calls for immediate cuts or halts.
Posts frequently celebrate or fabricate news of aid cuts, polling followers for support.
Examples include claims of the White House "halting all aid to Ukraine," a U.S. court allowing Trump to withhold billions in foreign aid — implying Ukraine — and praise for European leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orbán, a critic of NATO support for Kyiv.
According to research by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) and others, some fake pro-Trump accounts on X posing as young U.S. women or "patriots" promoted posts complaining about U.S. aid to Ukraine — for example by questioning the value of "sending money/weapons to Ukraine" when "Americans at home" are neglected.
The rollout of the new X geolocating tool has not been without controversy after fictitious viral screenshots claimed to show the Department of Homeland Security's X account labeled as being in Israel — another obvious attempt to raise unfounded concern about the U.S. being influenced by Israel.
Bier dismissed the claim immediately on X, writing, "This is fake news. Location was not available on any gray check account at any point. Furthermore, the DHS has only shown IPs from the United States since account creation."
DHS issued its own rare denial: "I can't believe we have to say this, but this account has only ever been run and operated from the United States. Screenshots are easy to forge, videos are easy to manipulate."
X warns that account locations "may not be accurate and can change periodically," particularly if users travel or rely on foreign eSIMs.
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