X's 'About This Profile' Feature Reveals Non-U.S. Base for Many 'MAGA Patriots'
Elon Musk's X platform launched 'About This Profile,' a new feature that has revealed a significant number of users identifying as 'MAGA patriots' are not based in the United States.
Overview
- Elon Musk's social media platform, X, recently rolled out a new transparency feature named 'About This Profile' to its users.
- The 'About This Profile' feature is designed to provide more information regarding the origin and location of user accounts.
- Upon its introduction, the feature began to display location data for various profiles across the platform.
- A notable revelation from this new tool is that many accounts identifying as 'MAGA patriots' are not actually based within the United States.
- This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the geographical distribution of certain political user groups on the X platform.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this story by emphasizing that many "MAGA Patriot" X accounts are based abroad. They use terms like "ostensibly America-loving" and "lying about their location," suggesting "covert agendas" and "foreign influence campaigns." The article predominantly features MAGA examples, concluding with a specific mention of alleged Russian pro-Trump activities, shaping a narrative of inauthenticity and foreign manipulation.
"The new feature has revealed that many accounts claiming to be American patriots are actually based abroad, raising concerns about authenticity and potential foreign influence."
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FAQ
The 'About This Profile' feature on X shows where users are based, the date they joined, how many times they've changed their username, how the user downloaded the app, and potentially if an account is using a VPN.
It was introduced to improve transparency, help users identify authentic accounts versus bots or bad actors, and to combat misinformation and inauthentic engagement on the platform.
The feature revealed that many accounts identifying as 'MAGA patriots' are not actually based in the United States, which challenges previous assumptions about their geographical distribution.
As of now, users can see their own account information but may have limited or no immediate access to such detailed information on other profiles, possibly due to X allowing users time to review and adjust their information first.
X plans to add an indicator to user profiles to show if an account is using a VPN to hide its true location, to help detect bots or manipulative accounts.
History
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