A surprising revelation has surfaced on X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, as numerous fervent MAGA accounts, known for endorsing the ‘America First’ doctrine, have been traced back to locations as distant as Thailand, Nigeria, and Eastern Europe. This unexpected discovery has cast a shadow on the authenticity of these accounts, raising questions about their true motivations and origins.

This revelation comes on the heels of a recent update to X, which has left users worldwide in a state of bewilderment. The update now prominently displays an account’s country of origin on the user’s profile page, a feature that has brought to light the international roots of some of these high-profile pro-Trump accounts.

The disclosure has sparked a wave of intrigue and skepticism, particularly among those who have relied on these accounts for political commentary and information. The newfound transparency has peeled back layers of the MAGA movement, revealing that some of its loudest voices are not as homegrown as they appeared.

In response to this unveiling, Harry Sisson, a noted Democratic commentator, expressed his views by stating, “This is easily one of the greatest days on this platform,” underscoring the significant impact of this update on the platform’s political discourse.

‘This is easily one of the greatest days on this platform,’ outspoken Democrat commentator Harry Sisson wrote on X.

‘Seeing all of these MAGA accounts get exposed as foreign actors trying to destroy the United States is a complete vindication of Democrats, like myself and many on here, who have been warning about this.’

An account titled ‘America First’ with more than 67,000 followers which constantly shares content about Trump, Erika Kirk, Karoline Leavitt and the broader MAGA movement has been exposed for being based in Bangladesh.

Since the update, the majority of posts on the account now carry an X warning which reads: ‘The above account is based in Bangladesh and is trying to mislead people into thinking he is from the USA and a Trump supporter.’ 

Another high profile account, ‘@1776General_’ describes itself as a ‘constitutionalist, patriot and ethnically American’, but the account has now been traced back to Turkey.

Diehard MAGA X accounts have been exposed for being run outside of the United States in far flung locations from Thailand to Nigeria and Eastern Europe

Elon Musk ‘s latest update to his social media platform has sparked chaos within the movement and across the world, as trusted sources of political information have their credibility called into question

‘I work in international business. I’m currently working in Turkey on a contract,’ the owner of the account claimed.

MAGANationX, which boasts almost 400,000 followers and describes himself as a ‘Patriot Voice for We The People’, has been traced back to Eastern Europe, according to the metadata.

Similarly, IvankaNews – a fan account for Trump’s eldest daughter – appears to be operated out of Nigeria, while the Dark MAGA account is posting from Thailand.

The MAGA Beacon account has since been disabled, but was posting from south Asia. 

Conservative commentator Matt Walsh slammed the accounts which have now been exposed, writing: ‘If you aren’t from this country: We don’t care what you think about American politics. We don’t care what you think about American culture. We don’t care what you think about American elections.   

‘Your grift is over. Focus on your own problems.’

The accounts are now being inundated with furious responses from MAGA loyalists who had been duped by their content. 

‘You’re busted,’ one critic wrote, while another added ‘you don’t even go here.’ 

The rollout has hit the MAGA movement particularly hard, with high-profile accounts which often post about election results and Trump’s anti-immigration agenda linked to far-flung foreign nations

The MAGA Beacon account has since been disabled, but was posting from south Asia.

Another MAGA account has been linked to Morocco

Meanwhile, accounts posing as sources of firsthand information out of Gaza have also been exposed, and Scottish Nationalist accounts agitating for the break-up of the United Kingdom have been traced back to Iran.

Motasm A Dalloul, who describes himself as a ‘Gaza-based journalist’ and has a link to his PayPal account to support his work, made his account in 2011 and is based in Poland, according to the X update.

He railed against the information in his profile’s metadata, sharing a video which he claims is from the ground in Gaza, though some critics questioned whether it had been digitally altered.

And the Times of Gaza account, which boasts almost one million followers, has been traced back to ‘East Asia and the Pacific’, X states.

Users posing as Scottish independence advocates, including ‘biomedical engineering student’ Jessica and an account going by ‘Ewan_Mcgregor0’ have actually been traced back to Iran.

While the metadata states both accounts are based in the Netherlands, they have been accessed via an Iran-based Android app, which indicates an Iranian VPN is rerouting the account.

MP Graeme Downie told the UK Defence Journal the new data ‘confirms what we already knew that Iran, as well as countries such as Russia and our other enemies, are actively seeking to subvert our democracy and discourse in Scotland and the UK. 

‘We are already in a grey war with our enemies and this is further proof of that.

‘While pursuit of Scottish independence is a valid political objective, this report shows the extent to which the debate is being influenced by unfriendly countries.’

Meanwhile, accounts posing as sources of firsthand information out of Gaza have also been exposed

Scottish Nationalist accounts agitating for the break-up of the United Kingdom have been traced back to Iran

X has acknowledged that there have been some kinks in the new rollout, and after initially introducing the feature on Friday it was briefly pulled offline due to backlash.

Head of product, Nikita Bier, warned: ‘There are a few rough edges that will be resolved by Tuesday. If any data is incorrect, it will be updated periodically based on best available information. This happens on a delayed and randomized schedule to preserve privacy.’

When the feature was reinstated, a warning note on the location data read: ‘The country or region that an account is based can be impacted by recent travel or temporary relocation. 

‘This data may not be accurate and can change periodically.’

Prior to the new feature, X users could see a person’s ‘location’ on their profile, but this was based on what users input themselves on their account.

Meanwhile, the new feature is based directly on their IP address, and therefore can’t be manually manipulated. 

‘This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square,’ Bier said.

‘We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X.’