Prominent MAGA influencers on X exposed as foreign actors

A new transparency feature on X has revealed that numerous prominent MAGA influencers are actually foreign actors, with many accounts traced to Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa.

Busted: X rolled out its “About This Account” feature on Friday, allowing users to check an account’s country of origin, sign-up date, frequency of username changes and the method used to download the app. Within hours, rival political factions began investigating each other’s accounts, uncovering dozens of supposedly patriotic American profiles that were actually operated from overseas.

Among the most prominent examples include @MAGANationX, which has nearly 400,000 followers and a bio reading “America First” and “Patriot Voice for We The People.” As it turns out, the account actually operates from Eastern Europe. The account @IvankaNews_, which has a million followers and frequently posts about immigration threats, is based in Nigeria. Other accounts include Dark Maga from Thailand, MAGA Beacon from South Asia and MAGA Scope from Nigeria.

What this means: The revelations highlight the need for critical evaluation of social media content. It appears foreign actors exploit American political divisions for financial gain, as X pays content creators based on engagement from verified accounts. This payment structure can incentivize divisive content regardless of accuracy or source.

The implications are especially relevant for Asian Americans, who frequently encounter xenophobic rhetoric on social media. Understanding that some divisive content originates from foreigners operating for profit rather than from genuine domestic discourse may provide important context for evaluating online political narratives. And while the problem predates Musk’s October 2022 acquisition of the platform, it has exacerbated since, with X’s AI chatbot Grok also accused of spreading false claims.

Big stakes: Democratic influencer Harry Sisson called the revelations “easily one of the greatest days on this platform,” saying they vindicate warnings about foreign interference. Meanwhile, MeidasTouch co-founder Brett Meiselas emphasized the broader impact, saying, “Think about the lawmakers who feel pressured by accounts like this. Think about the disinformation that spreads as a result.”

The revelations also confirm what some researchers already knew. The Centre for Information Resilience flagged fake MAGA accounts during the 2024 election, including those using stolen photos of European models. Separately, the Justice Department discovered last year that popular right-wing influencers were unknowingly paid by a Russian influence operation.

The feature was briefly removed hours after going live, but has since been restored. X’s head of product development Nikita Bier acknowledged “a few rough edges,” including VPN-related inaccuracies that they plan to address.