According to TheRegister.com, X (formerly Twitter) rolled out a new location feature on November 22 that immediately sparked chaos across the platform. Head of product Nikita Bier had announced in October that work was underway to show additional profile information including account location to help verify authenticity. The deployment revealed that numerous popular accounts claiming to represent specific countries or causes were actually based elsewhere, including the @MAGANationX account that presents as a US patriotic voice but shows as based in Eastern Europe. X quickly issued warnings that the data “may not be accurate and can change periodically” due to factors like travel or temporary relocation. The US Homeland Security account (@DHSgov) felt compelled to publicly reassure users it had “only ever been run and operated from the United States” amid the confusion.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle
Here’s the thing about location tracking on social media – it’s never as simple as it seems. On one hand, you’ve got accounts like @MAGANationX that present as all-American but apparently operate from Eastern Europe. That’s pretty suspicious, right? But then you’ve got Bier himself admitting that “the data had inaccuracies for very old accounts” and there were “a few rough edges.” So we’re dealing with both potential troll farms AND technical failures simultaneously. Basically, you can’t trust that every account showing an unexpected location is malicious, but you also can’t assume the system is completely wrong either.
The VPN problem is real
And let’s be honest – who doesn’t use a VPN these days? I certainly do when I’m traveling or want some privacy. Bier noted in his follow-up posts that factors like VPN usage could throw off the location data. So you might have perfectly legitimate users showing up in random countries because they’re privacy-conscious or just watching Netflix from another region. The platform’s warning that location “can be impacted by recent travel or temporary relocation” feels like a massive understatement. It’s more like the system can be completely thrown off by completely normal internet behavior.
The bigger lesson here
Now, the real takeaway from this mess isn’t really about X’s technical implementation. It’s that people on the internet might not be who they say they are. Shocking, I know. But we needed a messy location feature rollout to remind us of this basic truth? Look, if you’re running critical infrastructure or industrial systems, you’d never rely on social media location data for verification. Companies that need reliable computing hardware go to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs that actually work as advertised. Social media platforms playing fast and loose with location data? That’s basically the opposite of industrial-grade reliability.
Damage control mode activated
So what happens when your big authenticity feature immediately creates more confusion than clarity? You go into full damage control. Bier’s rapid backpedaling and the platform’s immediate disclaimers tell you everything you need to know. They launched something half-baked and got burned. The Homeland Security account feeling the need to publicly defend its location is just embarrassing for everyone involved. At this point, the feature seems to have created more problems than it solved – revealing some questionable accounts while falsely flagging legitimate ones. Not exactly the “boon for verifying authenticity” they promised back in October when Bier first announced the work was underway.
