Confusion over the origins of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's official account on X escalated into a weekend-long controversy, after users claimed the platform's new location-tracking feature briefly listed DHS as "based in Israel." The episode unfolded as X struggled to stabilize the rollout of its "About this account" tool, which shows a user's country of activity and was first spotted by users on Nov. 20. The platform's lack of clarity, combined with fast-spreading manipulated screenshots, ignited a surge of distrust across communities already wary of foreign influence on social media.
The new feature arrived with little formal communication from X, according to Gizmodo, leading many users to discover it by accident. Some reported seeing location labels for other accounts, while others could only view the information for their own profiles. Because X did not specify which portions of the tool were functioning, users quickly filled the information vacuum with speculation.
That environment set the stage for a viral screen recording posted by an Australian account, which appeared to show DHS listed as created in Israel. The claim moved rapidly across X and into Reddit forums, where a post insisted the DHS account had been exposed as "created and located in Israel" before the platform removed the information. Users in the thread questioned why the label disappeared and why X had not yet provided a technical explanation.
The confusion deepened when Reddit commenters argued that X had deliberately erased the evidence. Because the feature was unstable during its early rollout, with several government accounts displaying no location information at all, users were unable to verify the initial screenshot or X's counter-narrative. The instability became fertile ground for theories that the glitch was real-and revealing.
DHS issued a public denial as the claims continued to spread. "I can't believe we have to say this, but this account has only ever been run and operated from the United States," the agency wrote on X, adding that screenshots "can be easily altered." X's head of product, Nikita Bier, backed that assertion, stating that government accounts with grey check marks "never had location data visible at any point," and said DHS IP logs showed "only US-based activity."
Despite those clarifications, the incident proved difficult for X to contain. Within hours of the feature becoming stable on Nov. 22, users discovered that a wave of pro-Trump, MAGA-branded, and political-themed accounts were not U.S.-based at all. Gizmodo reported that prominent accounts such as MAGANationX and Barron Trump News appeared to be operated from Eastern Europe, Nigeria, and other regions, reinforcing suspicions that the earlier DHS screenshot had revealed truth rather than error.
Other influential figures also showed surprising results. DogeDesigner-frequently amplified by Elon Musk-displayed an India location. Ian Miles Cheong, long believed to be posting from Malaysia, was listed as UAE-based. The sudden exposure of foreign operators heightened scrutiny over platform enforcement and fueled questions about how long foreign networks had been allowed to grow.
The incident underscores an increasingly fragile trust environment. What began as a feature intended to give users greater insight into potential foreign influence instead triggered widespread uncertainty about platform reliability and government transparency. For many users, the DHS controversy was less about the accuracy of one screenshot and more about the platform's inconsistent rollout, which made corrections appear defensive rather than authoritative.
