We have a stunning development over the past 24 hours. A new transparency feature on Twitter is revealing that many loud, “patriotic” voices in the MAGA ecosystem aren’t actually located in the United States at all. Instead, a surprising number are operating from places like Russia, Nigeria, India, Thailand, and other countries.
I’ve spent the last 24 hours digging through dozens of these accounts, mapping out exactly how the right-wing online ecosystem spreads foreign-generated propaganda into the American conversation. This work takes time, rigor, and independence. If you value this kind of reporting, please consider subscribing today so I can keep expanding this platform and bring it to millions more households.
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The tool, called “about this account,” became available to users on Friday. It shows key information about any profile, including where the account is based, when it was created, how often its username has changed, and how the X app was originally downloaded. Within hours of its launch, users began uncovering major right-wing accounts that appear to have misrepresented their origins.
I have reviewed dozens of accounts, and it confirmed long-held suspicions that some of the most aggressive MAGA voices were actually foreign-run. The tool has now exposed that many of the accounts pushing some of the most prominent MAGA propaganda are actually simply foreign actors. As a result, what you have is an ecosystem on Twitter where Republican politicians in the United States, including the President of the United States, are unknowingly sharing foreign propaganda.
Several prominent MAGA-aligned accounts were quickly flagged:
Users across Reddit joined in, sharing screenshots of profiles claiming to be American—such as someone presenting themselves as a Texan—whose locations nevertheless showed foreign origins. Some accounts changed their displayed location after being called out, adding even more controversy.
The biggest issue, as I mentioned above, is the President of the United States unknowingly sharing one of these accounts.
Twitter has struggled with bots and misinformation for years, but those issues have grown dramatically since Elon Musk purchased the platform in 2022 and rebranded it. His AI chatbot, Grok, has also faced criticism for amplifying inaccurate or misleading claims.
This new transparency feature offers a rare look behind the curtain—and early signs suggest it may complicate the online MAGA ecosystem, where authenticity and nationalism are often central to the message.