Foreign MAGA X Accounts

One issue that I struggle with when writing this blog is whether or not to address topics that are well-covered elsewhere. If everyone else is already writing about a topic, generally much better than I can, is there any value in me also posting about it? Probably not much, to be honest. At the same time, I feel like I shouldn't just ignore important developments. Perhaps the best thing I could do is simply provide a list of links for those interested to follow. But that seems kind of boring. I'd rather write. So, with the caveat that I am going to be covering some pretty well-trodden ground today, I want to discuss the recent revelation that a number of major MAGA accounts on X are actually based overseas.

The background to this story is that last week X revealed a new feature that shows the country in which an account is based. The feature is not perfect; if a user is using a VPN, for instance, the information might be wrong. One example of that is the Planned Parenthood account which appears to be based in Germany because the organization uses a VPN. Nevertheless, when the feature was first released, a number of popular MAGA accounts were shown to be based overseas. In some cases, the account owners have fessed up and defended their posting. Presumably, in the future, those wishing to hide their true location might employ VPNs that show them to be in the United States. But, at least for a now, we have an interesting look at the foreign influence behind many MAGA accounts.

Before going further, I want to make a distinction between the type of accounts that were revealed as foreign-based and the frequently discussed "troll farms." Troll farms are organized operations, generally foreign-based and sometimes state-controlled, that are directed to spread a certain message. Large numbers of accounts will post similar messages, follow a massive number of users in hopes of getting return followers, and hope to get their posts propagated by higher-profile accounts. Troll farms essentially attempt to use brute force to inject their messages into the information stream. The accounts revealed last week are different. These are individual accounts mostly run by a single dedicated user. The accounts have developed their own identities and followers. In effect, the accounts have become influencers while faking their true identity. If troll farms can be described as wholesale operations, these accounts are retail, perhaps even boutique.

When the new feature was rolled out, a number of major MAGA and right-wing influencer accounts were shown to be based overseas. Influencer Harry Sisson wrote:

This is easily one of the greatest days on this platform. Seeing all of these MAGA accounts get exposed as foreign actors trying to destroy the United States is a complete vindication of Democrats, like myself and many on here, who have been warning about this.

Dozens of "America First" or "MAGA" accounts have been identified as being based in places such as Eastern Europe, Russia, India, and Nigeria. For example, Sisson highlighted the "MAGA Nation" account that has nearly 400,000 followers. The account's profile says: "Standing strong with President Trump 🇺🇸 | America First | Patriot Voice for We The People". However, the account is based in Eastern Europe, possibly Russia. Small accounts, such as "Maga Scope" that only has 43 followers, have been unearthed as foreign-based. This account is based in Nigeria. The "AmericanPatriot" account has 143 thousand followers and claims to be based in Florida. However, the new X feature shows that the account is based in Chile. The "Defiant L" account has a header image quoting Elon Musk as saying "Defiant L's is one of the best accounts on X" and has 1.6 million followers. The account is based in Japan but is almost entirely focused on American social and political topics.

Even cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump has, perhaps unwittingly, contributed to the spread of fake MAGA accounts that are based overseas. Just three days ago, Trump posted on Truth Social an image of an X post authored by "Fan Trump Army." That account, which has over half a million followers, is based in India. After the location was exposed, the account owner added "An Indian who loves America, President Trump, Musk!" to the account's profile. I have written it before, but I continue to be astonished that a man who has access to the most advanced intelligence services in the world still manages to find random social media accounts to use as information sources. The "Make America Great Again" president sells hats made in China, shirts made in Bangladesh, furniture made in Turkey, and spreads Trump Fan accounts based in India.

One of the most humorous examples of an X user being outed involves Ian Miles Cheong, a Malaysian who I don't believe has ever visited America. Nevertheless, he is incredibly popular among right-wingers and tweets nearly non-stop about America. While Cheong has long been known to live outside the U.S., the new location feature revealed that he is actually living in the United Arab Emirates. Cheong initially reacted by making jokes about his location but later grew angry about it and described it as "doxxing".

As Will Sommer documented in his "False Flag" newsletter, the location feature added to the conflict between traditional MAGA accounts and accounts associated with Nick Fuentes’ "groyper" movement. As Sommer explains, an account popular for posting clips from Fuentes' podcast, "Asuka Groyper," was revealed to be based in New Zealand, and another, “MAGS," is based in Serbia. Sommer quotes pro-Israel poster Eyal Yakoby as saying, "Groypers are in shambles right now. Their entire psyop is being exposed." Brilyn Hollyhand, who Sommer describes as an "aspiring Charlie Kirk clone," is quoted as saying, "The people you let completely divide our party at the time it had its most momentum in history are sitting in a sweatshop in India laughing at us!" Sommer also noted that:

American groypers weren’t chastened by the new X geolocation revelations. Instead, some shot back that their accounts had merely been exposed as operating from majority-white Anglosphere countries like New Zealand and Australia, even producing charts to prove that more mainstream MAGA accounts were more likely than groypers to be from non-white countries.

One interesting aspect of the revelations is that the foreign-based accounts may not be entirely, or even at all, driven by interest in political interference. As a rule, the fake accounts that have been unearthed are "verified" and have the associated blue checks. Obviously, that makes a mockery of Musk's so-called verification system. More importantly, however, it opens the door to these posters becoming eligible for X's monetization feature that pays posters based on the engagement with their content. This normally is not a huge amount of money, possibly a couple of thousand dollars a month for a reasonably sized account. This is not enough money for most Americans to devote themselves to tweeting. However, for a resident of a poor African or Eastern European country, it could be a living wage. That might explain why so many of these accounts are portraying themselves as American right-wingers. As X has evolved to a right-wing-leaning site, the market for content leans right-wing. You don't show up at a country music concert trying to sell Ramones t-shirts, so you similarly don't want to produce liberal content for a conservative market. Less generously, MAGA rubes might simply be more susceptible to being fooled.

Allegations of foreign interference in social media have been a mainstay of U.S. politics for nearly a decade. Almost every day on DCUM, I see allegations that a poster is a Russian troll. Social media networks have repeatedly announced the discovery of networks of foreign bot accounts that have infiltrated their networks. Conservatives have tended to either ignore or belittle allegations of foreign influence, often with Trump's frequent refrain about the "Russia hoax." But, in this case, the presence of foreign actors cannot be denied and has even fueled an internecine battle among right-wingers.