3 min read
X has issued fresh clarifications after its newly launched About This Account information panel sparked widespread debate by exposing that several highly influential political accounts are actually operating from outside the United States. The platform says the feature is functioning as intended to boost transparency, but acknowledges that some of the displayed location data is still incorrect and is being updated.
The About This Account panel, now visible on all public profiles, shows when an account was created, the country in which it is based, how many times the user changed their username and how the profile was originally set up. The goal is to help users spot bots, spam networks and foreign actors attempting to influence political conversations in other countries.
The rollout immediately reignited controversy when users noticed that some of the largest political commentary accounts were listed as operating from regions far outside the communities they claim to represent. This revelation revived long standing concerns about foreign influence efforts on X, especially given that the platform remains a major news source for millions of Americans.
However, X now says that many of these early indicators are inaccurate. According to Nikita Bier, Head of Product, X relied on an older database to infer user locations based on IP data. That estimation system proved to be unreliable, mislabeling some accounts with outdated or incorrect regional information. X says corrections are already underway and expects accuracy to improve within the week.
Bier also explained that account creation locations are wrong for many older accounts, especially those created through VPNs or devices routed through foreign servers. These too will be updated. X is also adding a new indicator that will show when users log in regularly through VPNs.
Government accounts marked with gray verification checks will not display location information at all. Bier says this is to prevent potential security risks against public officials. This clarification comes after rumors falsely suggested that certain government accounts were being operated from foreign countries.
X has also added additional guidance in its Help Center explaining how users can adjust what level of location information they want to display. Users may choose to show either a country or a broader region, but cannot disable the location feature entirely.
Despite the rocky rollout and the wave of criticism, the feature is already accomplishing what X intended. It is surfacing geographic clues about where accounts are actually posting from, giving users more context about motivations, authenticity and potential influence operations. And while the initial backlash created negative headlines, it may also prompt more people to check these transparency tools and become more aware of how information circulates on the platform.
