About This Account reveals the scale of X’s foreign troll problem

The article discusses the revelation of the scale of foreign troll accounts on X (formerly Twitter) following the launch of the "About This Account" feature. The article highlights how accounts focused on US politics, often supporting former President Trump, were found to be based in countries like Nigeria, Eastern Europe, Bangladesh, and Thailand, rather than the United States. This uncovered an extensive network of seemingly fake or troll accounts aimed at stoking political anger. While some of these accounts may be part of state-sponsored influence campaigns, the article suggests that many are driven by the potential for monetary gain, as earnings from X can be substantial in developing nations. The article also notes that X later removed information about account locations and placed disclaimers, citing the potential for inaccuracies due to travel, VPNs, and proxies. However, the article suggests that this is unlikely to be the case for the majority of the accounts being called out.