A new transparency feature on X, the social-media platform owned by Elon Musk, has ignited a wave of disclosures showing that many high-profile "America First" accounts are operated outside the United States. The revelation, which surfaced over the weekend, triggered widespread debate across the platform as users identified accounts with large followings posting pro-Trump content but tracing back to regions including Bangladesh, Nigeria, Turkey, Thailand, and Eastern Europe.
The visibility shift emerged after users discovered that clicking an account's "Joined" date now displays an "About This Account" tab offering geographic origin and other metadata. Within hours, X was flooded with users posting screenshots highlighting major MAGA-branded accounts with foreign locations, sending political influencers and partisan commentators scrambling to react.
One of the largest accounts flagged was MAGANationX, which promotes itself as a "Patriot Voice for We The People" and has nearly 400,000 followers. The account frequently posts pro-Trump slogans and American iconography; X now lists it as operating from Eastern Europe. Another widely circulated example, IvankaNews, has accumulated roughly 1 million followers posting about immigration and Islam. The account is registered as based in Nigeria.
Additional accounts surfaced in rapid succession. Dark MAGA, with about 15,000 followers, appears to be operated from Thailand. MAGA Scope, which posts political commentary to an audience of more than 51,000 followers, is also based in Nigeria. An account titled America First, with nearly 70,000 followers and content such as "Thumbs up if you're a Trumper who loves God," shows a Bangladesh location. Even an account with the simple handle @American, featuring a bald eagle over an American flag, is listed as based in South Asia.
The revelations prompted celebration among Democratic activists. Liberal influencer Harry Sisson wrote, "This is easily one of the greatest days on this platform. Seeing all of these MAGA accounts get exposed as foreign actors trying to destroy the United States is a complete vindication of Democrats, like myself and many on here, who have been warning about this."
The new transparency tool was first previewed by Nikita Bier, X's head of product, who described the feature as a means of authenticating political accounts and limiting the influence of coordinated networks. The tab reveals an account's country or region, creation date, and username-change history. In announcing the update Saturday, Bier acknowledged that the system still had "a few rough edges" that would be addressed within days.
Bier added that location data may shift as records update, writing, "If any data is incorrect, it will be updated periodically based on best available information. This happens on a delayed and randomised schedule to preserve privacy."
The feature's rollout briefly halted Friday night after users circulated screenshots alleging that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security account was shown as based in Israel. The posts included purported video captures of the account location reading "Tel Aviv, Israel." Both DHS and Bier rejected the claims.
DHS responded directly on the platform, writing, "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." Bier said the tool was temporarily taken offline "because the account creation country was incorrect on a very small subset of old accounts, due to IP ranges changing over time," and described the DHS claims as "fake news," adding that "the DHS has only shown IPs from the United States since account creation."
