X’s new country-locator feature exposes Nigeria-based impostors posing as US author

Two days after X, the microblogging platform formerly known as Twitter, rolled out a feature that displays users’ country locations, the update has begun to produce unexpected revelations.

Juanita Broaddrick, a US author and political commentator, became one of the first high-profile users to publicly identify her impersonators after discovering that the accounts mimicking her identity were operating from Nigeria.

“All my impersonators are in Nigeria,” Broaddrick posted on her X account.

Until X introduced the country-locator tool, she had little information about those behind the impersonation.

The new feature instantly revealed what had been hidden over time, as the impostors’ location tag showed Nigeria, not the United States, where she lives.

The feature, which automatically attaches a country label to user profiles, is intended to curb misinformation, bot activity and identity theft.

But it has also raised questions about user privacy, potential profiling, and the risk of targeted harassment.

Breanna Morello, who describes herself as an independent journalist on X, also weighed in on the platform’s new country-locator feature.

She said the update revealed that every one of the accounts claiming to be her fans is actually operating from Nigeria.

“I just learned that all of my fan accounts are in Nigeria,” she posted on her X timeline, adding another layer to the growing conversation about identity, anonymity and the ripple effects of the platform’s latest change.

The update further showed that an account branded as an Ivanka Trump “News” platform, which had been posting political commentary and updates, is in fact operated from Nigeria.