Top MAGA Influencers on X/Twitter Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Trolls
14 hours ago
- #foreign interference
- #MAGA
- #social media
- X (formerly Twitter) introduced a new 'About This Account' feature to increase transparency.
- The feature revealed many top MAGA and right-wing influencer accounts are based overseas, including in Russia, India, and Nigeria.
- Accounts like MAGANationX (Eastern Europe) and IvankaNews (Nigeria) were exposed as foreign actors posing as American supporters.
- The discovery led to widespread reactions, with some calling it a vindication for Democrats who warned about foreign interference.
- X temporarily removed the tool, possibly due to backlash over exposing far-right accounts, but later reinstated it.
- Experts and users raised concerns about foreign influence operations and disinformation spread by fake accounts.
- Some foreign creators are financially incentivized to post divisive U.S. political content due to X's engagement-based payout system.
- The revelations echo past concerns about Russian interference in U.S. elections, including investigations into Trump's 2016 campaign.