Dozens of prominent political accounts on X are under scrutiny after the platform’s new country of origin feature revealed that many high engagement profiles were operating far from the locations they claimed.

The update, which shows the region from which an account is being used, has ignited a storm across both pro-Trump and anti-Trump circles.

Elon Musk’s X, rolled out the feature over the weekend. Users discovered that clicking on an account’s join date now opens a tab listing the country or region where the account is located.

The disclosure page also carries a caution that the information may be influenced by recent travel, temporary relocation or the use of Virtual Private Networks.

The revelations have triggered widespread accusations of misleading behaviour.

Several accounts posting about US politics, including those with strong MAGA branding, appeared to be run from outside the country.

One profile named MAGA NATION with more than 392,000 followers was found to be based in eastern Europe.

Dark Maga, which has over 15,000 followers, was listed in Thailand. MAGA Scope with more than 51,000 followers was shown to be operating from Nigeria. America First, an account followed by over 67,000 users, was identified as being based in Bangladesh.

The pattern was not confined to one political side.

An account known as Ron Smith, which describes its operator as a Proud Democrat and Professional MAGA hunter, is run from Kenya and has more than 52,000 followers.

Another profile titled ULTRAMAGA TRUMP2028 that claimed to be located in Washington, DC appeared in the feature as being based in Africa.

A now deleted account named “Trump Is My President” was listed in Macedonia. The account @American with a bald eagle and American flag in its profile image was shown as being based in South Asia.

Concerns over inauthentic or bot accounts have loomed over the platform for over a decade.

The most notable flashpoint came ahead of the 2016 US election when accounts on X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms were allegedly used by a Russian government operation seeking to influence the vote.

Despite widespread alarm, reliable detection tools remained elusive for years.

Following the rollout of the new feature, users traded political barbs and exposed perceived foreign interference, prompting renewed debate over authenticity on X.

The company had removed the feature after its initial appearance but reinstated it soon after.

Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, had previewed the update last month as part of efforts to help users verify content and curb the reach of troll farms that operate political pages from abroad.

Many of the highlighted accounts have generated millions of impressions in views, likes, reposts and replies, allowing them to benefit from X’s monetisation programme.

Alexios Mantzarlis of Cornell Tech said the issue is being amplified by the platform’s blue tick system., reported BBC.

He argued that paid verification is functioning more as a revenue tool than a credible authentication method. He noted that features like community notes suggest the company is making some effort toward improving transparency.

Figures in the MAGA ecosystem have also weighed in. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna wrote from her account that supposed pro-America pages stoking division within the movement were being operated by foreign grifters and that the foreign operation is real along with the bot accounts.

Responding to early criticism, Bier acknowledged that the feature still has a few rough edges that should be fixed by Tuesday.

He said incorrect data will be updated using the best available information and that the update process is delayed and randomised to maintain user privacy.