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Musk's reveal of X/Twitter posters location(s) reveals massive amounts of foreign fraud
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:04 am
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:04 am
LINK
Elon Musk’s zeal for truth reveals the online frauds aiming to divide us
By Glenn H. Reynolds
Published Nov. 24, 2025, 6:27 p.m. ET
Back in the 1990s, computer geeks half-jokingly referred to the Internet as “The Net of a Million Lies.” The anonymity it offered meant users could pretend to be anyone, and could say anything. “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog,” as the famous New Yorker cartoon put it.
Online anonymity today isn’t what it once was. But this weekend we learned how extensive — and how damaging — the Net of a Million Lies remains. While users of X (formerly Twitter) are allowed to use anonymous handles and write their own personal descriptions, the company’s servers are privy to key details about every account holder. Ordinarily the service doesn’t police what you say about yourself.
But on Friday Elon Musk, having figured out that a lot of influential X accounts weren’t what they claimed to be, activated an X feature showing where users were actually posting from — and uncovered (at least) a million lies.
Turns out a lot of users claiming to be disillusioned Trump voters, or anti-Israel Americans, are actually foreign frauds.
Like the one that posted: “Trump is Israel First. I’m done with MAGA. I hope Republicans lose.” Americans turning on Trump over Israel? Nope. The account was based in Turkey.
Likewise the woke-right “groyper” movement supposedly elevating white supremacist Nick Fuentes seems to be largely a foreign sham, and “Ron Smith, MAGA Hunter,” a prolific anti-Trump poster with a substantial following, turns out to be from Kenya.
Many users billing themselves as “Native American” with accounts specializing in divisive racial attacks on white people are actually foreign, and mostly from Bangladesh.
And so on, and so on.
“This is an absolutely massive story of foreign ops shaping our political and cultural discourse,” Dave Rubin wrote. “Will the set of influencers who fell for it look in the mirror?”
Elon Musk’s zeal for truth reveals the online frauds aiming to divide us
By Glenn H. Reynolds
Published Nov. 24, 2025, 6:27 p.m. ET
Back in the 1990s, computer geeks half-jokingly referred to the Internet as “The Net of a Million Lies.” The anonymity it offered meant users could pretend to be anyone, and could say anything. “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog,” as the famous New Yorker cartoon put it.
Online anonymity today isn’t what it once was. But this weekend we learned how extensive — and how damaging — the Net of a Million Lies remains. While users of X (formerly Twitter) are allowed to use anonymous handles and write their own personal descriptions, the company’s servers are privy to key details about every account holder. Ordinarily the service doesn’t police what you say about yourself.
But on Friday Elon Musk, having figured out that a lot of influential X accounts weren’t what they claimed to be, activated an X feature showing where users were actually posting from — and uncovered (at least) a million lies.
Turns out a lot of users claiming to be disillusioned Trump voters, or anti-Israel Americans, are actually foreign frauds.
Like the one that posted: “Trump is Israel First. I’m done with MAGA. I hope Republicans lose.” Americans turning on Trump over Israel? Nope. The account was based in Turkey.
Likewise the woke-right “groyper” movement supposedly elevating white supremacist Nick Fuentes seems to be largely a foreign sham, and “Ron Smith, MAGA Hunter,” a prolific anti-Trump poster with a substantial following, turns out to be from Kenya.
Many users billing themselves as “Native American” with accounts specializing in divisive racial attacks on white people are actually foreign, and mostly from Bangladesh.
And so on, and so on.
“This is an absolutely massive story of foreign ops shaping our political and cultural discourse,” Dave Rubin wrote. “Will the set of influencers who fell for it look in the mirror?”
This post was edited on 11/25/25 at 6:06 am
15
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:25 am to Eurocat
Makes you wonder about posters here. I know we're a pretty tucked away, niche of a niche forum, but this kind of online astroturfing is so cheap and so hard to unmask.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:28 am to Eurocat
Elon said exactly this before he bought twitter.
Proven right again.
I’m down 31 followers since last Friday.
Proven right again.
I’m down 31 followers since last Friday.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:30 am to AUin02
quote:
Makes you wonder about posters here.
1 hundo.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:30 am to AUin02
quote:
Makes you wonder about posters here
*cough Kiwi cough*
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:30 am to AUin02
This stopped being a niche forum when the New York Times did it's massive story about this and some other forums.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:37 am to Eurocat
quote:
“This is an absolutely massive story of foreign ops shaping our political and cultural discourse,” Dave Rubin wrote.
Its the thing about foreign governments and especially bot farms.
They can cheaply and quickly farm out multiple accounts that agree with each other and make totally ludicrous ideas seem like they are mainstream.
The internet is a battleground, we've seen this here each day.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 6:51 am to Eurocat
I have a lot of white hot chicks following me from Cambodia. They seem to like me a lot.
Might have to fly down there and meet them.
Might have to fly down there and meet them.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 7:08 am to Eurocat
This is what you get when you let others tell you what to think/say and don't form this all internally.
You know who has never had a foreign sockpuppet account influence them? The people who don't let anyone influence them and use their own internal analysis to form ideas, arguments, and policy preferences
You know who has never had a foreign sockpuppet account influence them? The people who don't let anyone influence them and use their own internal analysis to form ideas, arguments, and policy preferences
Posted on 11/25/25 at 7:11 am to Narax
quote:
Its the thing about foreign governments and especially bot farms.
They can cheaply and quickly farm out multiple accounts that agree with each other and make totally ludicrous ideas seem like they are mainstream.
Or we can go back to the infamous, "FTX was money laundering Ukraine money" silliness
etc
Posted on 11/25/25 at 7:42 am to SlowFlowPro
While your point is valid, that is not the norm in society. Far too many people are influenced by what the see/read online.
Should the US care that foreign people/entities/governments can masquerade as US citizens and work to create division amongst us?
Should the US care that foreign people/entities/governments can masquerade as US citizens and work to create division amongst us?
Posted on 11/25/25 at 8:27 am to Eurocat
I said it before in another thread, but this feature needs to be permanent even if the option to see these locations are subscriber-only.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 8:36 am to Bard
You mean on x or all message boards all over the interent and what is to stop people from using VPN?
Posted on 11/25/25 at 8:45 am to AUin02
quote:
Makes you wonder about posters here.
There's been a huge influx of new account trolls here in the last 6 months, all skewing left.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 8:59 am to deathvalleytiger10
quote:
While your point is valid, that is not the norm in society. Far too many people are influenced by what the see/read online. Should the US care that foreign people/entities/governments can masquerade as US citizens and work to create division amongst us?
Great response.
I’ll only add that it’s arrogant to think you aren’t influenced even a little bit by others or by group-think.
Mostly the influence is subtle. If the Overton window seems to have shifted, the social pressure to not express thoughts outside of the window can be very powerful. Without realizing it, you will change your tone and tiptoe around a topic that you still feel strongly about, for example.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 9:00 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
This is what you get when you let others tell you what to think/say and don't form this all internally.
You know who has never had a foreign sockpuppet account influence them? The people who don't let anyone influence them and use their own internal analysis to form ideas, arguments, and policy preferences
Now stating the obvious is supposed to be "brilliance".
Posted on 11/25/25 at 9:04 am to Eurocat
I want to see them take it further. Real pictures, real names, real people ONLY.
Force everyone to stand behind everything they say. I recognize this would absolutely crush their business and they’ll never do it but I wonder if there will ever be a social media company try and create such a platform.
Force everyone to stand behind everything they say. I recognize this would absolutely crush their business and they’ll never do it but I wonder if there will ever be a social media company try and create such a platform.
Posted on 11/25/25 at 9:05 am to SlowFlowPro
Do you really doubt this? Maybe not these specifically identified entities, but the concept that tax dollars are laundered through grants, foreign investment, and NGO’s, and then recycled back to politicians???
That’s simply amazing!
That’s simply amazing!
Posted on 11/25/25 at 9:06 am to Eurocat
100% there are bots here. But while many assume they are on the left, most likely it is the opposite—they are on the right and their goal is to push people farther and farther rightward. It has worked. Moreover, the admins are likely aware and allow it because they are pretty far right, too. Generally they think it is a good thing ideologically and probably boosts their numbers.
How do I know? Just an hunch based on accumulated observations over the course of about 20 years. I don’t really post anymore because it is such a cesspool, but I do still use it as an exemplar for what the right wing nut jobs (ie most of you) are talking about.
Downvote away. Ban if you want. Seriously dgaf.
How do I know? Just an hunch based on accumulated observations over the course of about 20 years. I don’t really post anymore because it is such a cesspool, but I do still use it as an exemplar for what the right wing nut jobs (ie most of you) are talking about.
Downvote away. Ban if you want. Seriously dgaf.
This post was edited on 11/25/25 at 9:08 am
Posted on 11/25/25 at 9:09 am to TxTiger82
quote:
100% there are bots here.
They usually give themselves away right out of the gate though
They'll start a new thread with their first post and it's usually nonsensical sounding or something meant to enrage the prevailing mindsets here
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