By: Nick Gambino

X added a new feature to their platform that allows users to see where an account is based geographically. This has peeled back the curtain on just how much the online political “discourse” is being manipulated.

Bots have run wild on platforms like X and Facebook for years now. In fact, the issue was even prevalent way back when X was still Twitter, before Musk bought it. For some reason or another they have failed to rein in fake accounts. I don’t know if it’s a matter of incompetence or unwillingness to purge that many accounts at once, but whatever it is, it’s destroying these social media sites. 

The new location feature is a brilliant idea that’s also incredibly simple. Couple it with the Community Notes feature that was added to X three years ago, and you have a recipe for quickly outing fake accounts. Users are already getting to work, exposing these bad actors.

So far they’ve uncovered accounts purporting to be Americans and super MAGA. Look deeper and you’ll find some of those accounts are based out of Bangladesh or Thailand or a slew of other countries that aren’t the USA. There’s even an account with the handle @American that is based in Pakistan. That’s wild. 

Whether these accounts were created at the behest of foreign governments or are simply moneymaking schemes that rely on engagement bait, it’s clear that the intention is to sow discontent about the current state of US politics. 

Let me be clear, it’s not all about politics. There are endless accounts that are pretending to be people they’re not. Like those that are trying to get money out of lonely men who think they’re talking to a pretty girl, when the truth is they’re most likely talking to some dude in Eastern Europe. 

It’s a breeding ground for scams. Because why wouldn’t it be? Accounts are free to create and you can be anyone you want with a few doctored or stolen photos. 

At least the new location feature is another step towards exposing these scam accounts.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR