On November 21, 2025, social media giant X—formerly known as Twitter—unveiled a sweeping new feature designed to shine a light on the true origins of its users. The move, which exposes the country or region from which an account operates, has sent shockwaves through the world of online discourse, unmasking a sprawling web of fake personas and manipulative campaigns that spanned continents, causes, and ideologies.
For years, X has been a platform where anyone could adopt an alternate identity—a self-styled patriot, a war-zone journalist, or a humanitarian raising funds for victims thousands of miles away. But with a simple click of the new “About this account” button, users can now see not only where an account claims to be from, but where it is actually posting. The results, according to multiple reports from Fox News, Israel Hayom, and other outlets, have been nothing short of astonishing.
Take the case of @1776General_, a popular account boasting over 140,000 followers. The profile described its owner as a “constitutionalist, patriot and ethnically American,” with a clear implication of being based in the United States. But when the new feature went live, it revealed the account was actually operating out of Turkey. The user quickly offered an explanation: “I work in international business. I’m currently working in Turkey on a contract.” Despite the clarification, the revelation raised immediate questions about authenticity and intent.
Another account, @AmericanVoice__, which had amassed more than 200,000 followers under the guise of American patriotism, was found to be run from South Asia. Within hours of the feature’s rollout, the account disappeared entirely. According to Fox News, these are just two examples among many that have emerged since the update.
The phenomenon isn’t limited to American political discourse. In fact, some of the most dramatic unmaskings have come from accounts purporting to be voices from the heart of conflict zones. One such example is Motasem A. Dalloul, known as @AbujomaaGaza, who described himself as a “Gaza-based journalist” and had more than 197,000 followers. X’s new feature, however, indicated the account was posting from Poland. Dalloul responded by posting a video that appeared to show him on the ground in Gaza, but users were quick to debate whether the footage was genuine or digitally manipulated. As Fox News reports, the authenticity of such content remains in question, highlighting the broader issue of trust in online narratives.
Other prominent accounts faced similar scrutiny. The Quds News Network, operating under @QudsNen and self-described as the “largest independent Palestinian youth news network,” listed its location as Palestine but was shown by X’s tool to be based in Egypt. Times of Gaza (@Timesofgaza), with nearly a million followers and a stated mission to provide updates from “occupied Palestine,” was flagged as posting from East Asia and the Pacific. These revelations have prompted a reevaluation of the credibility of widely followed accounts and the stories they tell.
But perhaps the most unsettling discoveries have come from the exposure of coordinated campaigns and outright deception. According to Israel Hayom, user @noor_jomaa01 presented herself as a Gazan raising funds for her family, posting photos of what she claimed was her destroyed home and thanking supporters for raising $42,000. The new tool revealed her actual location: Nigeria. “Every donation and share is a lifeline. We still urgently need help with safe passage, medical treatment, and daily needs,” she wrote. The disconnect between her stated identity and real location has cast doubt on the legitimacy of such fundraising efforts and raised concerns about exploitation of humanitarian crises for personal gain.
The anti-Israeli account “Khalisi,” believed to be operated by a European user, was exposed as tweeting from Pakistan. Numerous other “journalists from Gaza” were found to be operating from the United States, Turkey, and various other countries. Hasbara activist Ella Kenan, who has been vocal about online disinformation, tweeted, “Huge accounts in the West whose main content is Israel, spreading blood libels and more are actually in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and various other ‘world gems,’ and more accounts of ‘journalists’ from Gaza are actually located in Turkey or other places, just not in Gaza. This is what an activist warfare arena looks like.”
The scale of the problem goes beyond isolated cases. As Israel Hayom and other sources document, entire bot farms have been operating for months, with users posing as “North Gaza survivors” actually located in Pakistan, and self-described “Rafah residents” posting from Indonesia. Some accounts claiming to be members of Hamas’s Nukhba unit uploaded videos from Malaysia. Even fake profiles presenting themselves as Israeli Defense Forces soldiers—officers, snipers, and reservists supposedly operating in Gaza—were traced to London.
Not all users have accepted the new reality quietly. In one case, Moatasem Al-Daloul, after being revealed as posting from Poland, continued to insist he was in Gaza, sharing a video of himself among destroyed homes. The authenticity of such claims remains hotly contested, and the potential for digital manipulation only adds to the confusion. X’s built-in artificial intelligence assistant, Grok, has stated that the platform’s geographic data is accurate, but the debate continues.
X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, emphasized the importance of the new feature in combating misinformation. “When you read content on X, you should be able to verify its authenticity. This is critical for staying informed about important issues happening in the world. Part of this is showing new information in accounts, including the country an account is located in, among other things,” Bier wrote. The company also said, “We will provide people with enough context to determine if an account is authentic.”
Technically, the location feature isn’t foolproof. X representatives acknowledge that users can attempt to spoof their whereabouts using VPNs, but the platform is developing tools to detect and flag such activity. Where VPN use is suspected, X adds a warning next to the listed location, and foreign media reports suggest that even more robust detection features are on the way.
The transparency push raises deeper questions about the future of online anonymity and the role of social networks in shaping political and social narratives. What happens when the curtain is pulled back and accounts that once claimed to be eyewitnesses to war or champions of a cause are revealed to be young people in far-flung countries with little connection to the events they describe? For some, the loss of anonymity is a blow to free expression; for others, it’s a necessary step to restore trust and accountability in an era of rampant misinformation.
As X continues to roll out new features and refine its approach, the world is watching—and so are the millions of users who now find themselves, for better or worse, a little more exposed.
