Many influential ‘MAGA’ accounts based outside US, new X tool shows

Many well-known figures from the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement on X are actually located outside the United States, according to insights from a recently launched transparency tool. 

This tool offers users the ability to see the geographical location of accounts, their joining dates, username change history, and how the X app was downloaded, reports The Guardian.

Introduced on Friday (21 November) by the platform owned by Elon Musk, the "about this account" feature quickly revealed that several self-styled patriotic Americans in the MAGA movement are operating from countries like Russia, Nigeria and India.

"Make America Great Again" is an American political slogan most recently popularised by Donald Trump.

Liberal influencer Harry Sisson expressed excitement about the revelations, saying, "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."

For instance, MAGANationX, which has nearly 400,000 followers and describes itself as a "Patriot Voice for We The People," is actually run from Eastern Europe, per The Daily Beast.

Another prominent account, IvankaNews, dedicated to fan content about Ivanka Trump and boasting about a million followers, was found to be operated from Nigeria, frequently discussing topics like illegal immigration and Islam.

Further investigations revealed even more accounts with misleading claims about their origins. 

With over 67,000 followers, the account America First is operated from Bangladesh, according to the tool.

Dark Maga, with about 15,000 followers, is managed from Thailand, while MAGA Scope, boasting over 51,000 followers, is based in Nigeria. Another account, MAGA Beacon, is located in South Asia.

Posts on Reddit also joined the effort to uncover such misleading accounts, showcasing examples where users claimed to be from the US but were found to be based elsewhere, like a woman who initially claimed to live in Texas but appeared to be located in Russia. 

Many commenters shared their own findings in response to these revelations.

Misinformation and propaganda spread by bots have long plagued the platform, an issue that has intensified since Musk's acquisition in October 2022, The Guardian reports, adding that the platform's AI chatbot, Grok, has also been noted for frequently generating and amplifying false claims.