About This Account reveals the scale of X’s foreign troll problem
- Twitter’s “About This Account” feature has revealed the scale of foreign troll activity on the platform, with many accounts claiming to be from the US but actually based in other countries.
- A significant number of these fake accounts are focused on stoking political anger and promoting right-wing ideologies, particularly those supporting former President Trump.
- Many of these accounts have been traced back to countries such as Nigeria, Eastern Europe, Bangladesh, and Thailand, highlighting the global scope of Twitter’s foreign troll problem.
- X has removed location data for some accounts and added disclaimers about the potential inaccuracies of this information, but it is unlikely that this will stop all fake accounts from being exposed.
- The motivations behind these troll accounts are varied, with some likely driven by state-sponsored influence campaigns and others by monetary gain, which can be life-changing in developing nations.
It’s long been known that X (and Twitter before it) is a major venue for foreign influence campaigns to meddle in American politics. Much of the focus has been on Russian troll farms, which the US government has targeted on several occasions. But the launch of X’s About This Account feature may have revealed the scope and geographical breadth of its foreign troll problem.
Almost immediately after the feature launched, people started noticing that many rage-bait accounts focused on US politics appeared to be based outside of the US. Profiles with names like ULTRAMAGA🇺🇸TRUMP🇺🇸2028 were revealed to be based in Nigeria. A verified account posing as border czar Tom Homan was traced to Eastern Europe. And America_First0? Apparently from Bangladesh. An entire network of “Trump-supporting independent women” claiming to be from America was really located in Thailand.
Threads quickly started growing, collecting all the pro-MAGA trolls that claimed to be American, but were really foreign actors from every corner of the globe. Some right-wing personalities were quick to jump on evidence that many left-wing X users were also not who they claimed to be. In no time at all, X was flooded with people calling out the seemingly endless list of fake and troll accounts focused on stoking political anger.
Shortly after the feature launched, X removed information about where accounts were created. And disclaimers were placed on locations for where accounts were based, noting that travel, VPNs, and proxies could lead to inaccurate data. This is certainly true for some accounts, however, it’s extremely unlikely to be true for even a majority of those being called out.
Some of these troll accounts are likely state-sponsored influence campaigns. Foreign entities like Russia and China have a vested interest in sowing chaos in the American political system. But it’s also likely that many are driven by monetary gain. While earnings from monetization on X can be paltry by Western standards, it can be life-changing in developing nations.