This weekend, X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, introduced a new feature designed to reveal the country of origin for certain user accounts. Initially, the move was hailed by transparency advocates as a win for openness on social media.
The feature quickly uncovered several accounts that had been falsely presenting themselves as U.S.-based, only for it to be revealed that they were actually operating from countries such as India, Thailand, and Bangladesh.
However, by Monday, doubts began to surface about the accuracy and potential flaws of the feature. Security experts, social media researchers, and even two former X employees pointed out that the location data could be unreliable, as users could easily spoof or manipulate it using common tools like virtual private networks (VPNs).
Darren Linvill, a professor at Clemson University and co-director of the Media Forensics Hub, expressed concern that the feature would be quickly exploited. “People will learn to bypass it very fast,” he said.
How X’s Location Feature Works
The feature now shows an “About” section on X profiles, revealing information such as the account’s creation date, its supposed country of origin, and possibly other data, including whether the user accessed the platform through a country-specific app store. Prior to this, the only location data available was self-reported by users, and it was rarely verified by the platform.
X did not immediately clarify how it determines the location of users, but the platform likely relies on various signals like IP addresses, phone numbers, and GPS data from users’ devices. However, these data sources can be imprecise, as they may not always reflect the user’s actual physical location. Two former X employees revealed that, in recent years, the company had relied on geolocation data from internet service providers, data brokers such as MaxMind, and self-reported information from users.
One former employee recalled that X had experimented with determining a user’s location based on their most frequent login location over a 30-day window. However, these methods are far from perfect and can easily be manipulated by savvy users.
The Risk of Inaccurate Data
While the new feature aims to provide transparency, its rollout revealed immediate issues. For example, three NBC News journalists found that the feature displayed locations that didn’t align with where they were actually based, but instead showed the places they had visited in the past few months.
Former employees also pointed out that, in their experience, X had decided against implementing such a feature in the past due to concerns that it could be easily exploited. They warned that if malicious actors were able to spoof a U.S. location successfully, the platform could inadvertently endorse accounts that weren’t actually based in the U.S.
“At worst, these types of features can create a false sense of security,” said one former employee. “Users may mistakenly trust an account simply because the label indicates it’s from the U.S.”
A Short-Term Solution with Long-Term Problems?
Olga Belogolova, a former counter-influence operations lead at Meta, believes that country-of-origin labels like these are only temporary solutions that fail to address the deeper issue of inauthentic behavior on social media. “If the data sources are unreliable and inconsistent, these labels are easily circumvented by bad actors,” she said.
Many social media users, including influencers, have an incentive to disguise their true location. As X allows users to make money through subscriptions and advertising revenue, some may falsely claim to be from the U.S. in order to appeal to a larger audience and gain financial benefits.
Luca Luceri, a research assistant professor at the University of Southern California, pointed out that malicious actors are always looking for ways to manipulate public opinion, and while the new feature may help uncover some of these operations, it’s unclear whether the location data will always be trustworthy.
The Potential for Unintended Consequences
While the feature may expose fraudulent accounts, there are risks to using it. For instance, dissidents or activists in repressive regions may have valid reasons to obscure their locations. These users may be put at risk if the new feature inaccurately reveals their whereabouts. In addition, X’s labeling system does not provide precise location data, but a general country label, which still poses a privacy concern.
Calli Schroeder, from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, questioned whether X fully understood the potential dangers of the new feature. “It raises the question of what else X will decide to make public without consulting experts first, especially when it comes to user privacy and safety,” she said.
Conclusion: Transparency or a New Set of Risks?
While X’s new feature has the potential to improve transparency by revealing the origin of accounts, experts have expressed concerns about its effectiveness and accuracy. Without reliable data sources and proper safeguards, the feature could easily be manipulated or backfire, potentially misleading users or exposing vulnerable individuals to harm.
X, for its part, has acknowledged the possibility of errors and stated that data will be updated periodically as new information becomes available. Musk’s team remains hopeful that the feature is a step in the right direction, but as experts caution, it’s just the beginning of a much larger challenge in the battle against misinformation and digital manipulation.
