Microblogging service X: New origin information for accounts causes a stir
Since the weekend, X shows which state the accounts are fed from, and sometimes this information doesn't match their information at all. The excitement is great.
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On the microblogging service X, a change over the weekend caused a stir because the now visible, alleged origin of accounts sometimes did not seem to match their description. This has so far affected all accounts that support US President Donald Trump and his policies, because according to X, some of them are located in in “Eastern Europe (Non-EU),” or Nigeria. Nikita Bier from X has already admitted “a few discrepancies,” which are to be resolved by Tuesday. In some cases, information has already been corrected; for example, accounts of the US government were allegedly from Israel. An information text about the entry points out that it may be incorrect.
Stressed Product Manager
Nikita Bier, who is the product manager at X, announced the introduction of the new display on Saturday. The aim is to show in which country or region an account is located. This is “an important first step to ensure the integrity of the global village square.” Later, further ways are to be added to ensure the authenticity of the content distributed on the microblogging service. After numerous accounts of Donald Trump's MAGA movement subsequently showed a place of origin far outside the USA, the function was paused but then quickly reinstated. If you open an account now, you can view the account information by clicking on the join date displayed there.
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The back and forth over the weekend and the first changes already made by X indicate that there were indeed errors in the implementation. It is conceivable that the microblogging service's systems, for example, have problems determining the correct origin when using VPN services. However, large accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers may indeed not originate from the USA, even though their content is almost exclusively directed at people there and is intended to stir up resentment. Some accounts that were allegedly active from Pakistan or other states over the weekend are now being assigned to other states, while others are not. Nikita Bier joked about the commotion.
(mho)
