New X Location Feature Reveals More Pro-Hamas Deception

In recent weeks, a new transparency feature released by Elon Musk's social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), has triggered one of the most dramatic shake-ups in online discourse since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

With a single click, users can now view an X account's real-world geographic location, the date it was created and its name-change history. The result has been startling: dozens of accounts that claimed to be civilian "eyewitnesses" inside Gaza, many sharing emotional accounts of bombings and life under siege, were exposed as operating from thousands of miles away.

The revelation, pieced together by Israeli media and now acknowledged publicly by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has begun to pull back the curtain on what appears to be a broad, coordinated disinformation network. What millions of global viewers believed to be heartbreaking personal testimonies of ordinary Gazans were actually accounts traced to countries across the world, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

According to Ynet, the new "About this account" option enables users to view the location of an account, as well as, in many cases, the location where the X application was first installed. As users began examining high-profile "Gaza influencer" accounts, the results were nothing short of astonishing.

A supposed "nurse in Khan Younis caring for victims under fire" turned out to be tweeting from Pakistan. A widely followed account, describing itself as that of a father of six "trying to survive in a displacement camp," was traced to Bangladesh. One popular "Gaza poet" who wrote heartbreaking nighttime reflections "by candlelight in Deir al-Balah," was revealed to be posting from Russia.

Some created fictional personas claiming to be IDF soldiers, only to have metadata place the users in the United Kingdom. One heavily followed account, which had raised tens of thousands of dollars online while presenting itself as a young civilian in Gaza, was exposed as operating from Nigeria.

According to Israel Hayom, even after being exposed, some of these accounts persisted in posting as if nothing had happened. One user, who insisted he was "filming amid the rubble in Gaza", continued uploading dramatic videos, despite his X metadata pointing to a different continent.

Initially, the discoveries seemed like embarrassing mistakes--individual instances of identity fraud. But as the feature was used more widely, the pattern became undeniable. 

Israel Hayom's reporting shows that many of these accounts shared common characteristics:

Recently created;

Rapid follower growth;

Generic or AI-generated profile photos;

Highly emotional, highly political content; and

Messaging that closely mirrored pro-Hamas narratives.

Some accounts even changed their display location after being exposed, suggesting that operators were monitoring reactions in real time and attempting to adapt.

The scale of this network is staggering. Fox Business reported, according to the Israel-based intelligence firm Cyabra, more than 40,000 social media accounts pushing pro-Hamas narratives were identified across social media platforms, including X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

These accounts, representing roughly a quarter of profiles engaged in discussions about Hamas's attacks, disseminated over 312,000 posts and comments, with some accounts publishing hundreds of times per day. Cyabra's analysis shows that these are not sporadic, isolated actors; the accounts are coordinated, leveraging hashtags and network effects to amplify messaging globally, making it increasingly difficult for ordinary users to discern authentic eyewitness accounts from propaganda.

This independent verification by Cyabra underscores that the misleading accounts exposed by X's transparency feature are part of a larger, orchestrated campaign. Whether posing as civilians in Gaza, humanitarian workers, or IDF soldiers, the network is designed to manipulate public perception and influence international discourse in real time.

On Sunday afternoon, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly posted on X: "The Gaza Lie. Exposed. New X feature ripped mask off countless fake 'Gazan' accounts."

"Some chap posting from Pakistan, another in London. Another manipulative abuser somewhere else. All claiming to be suffering in Gaza while in the comfort of some coffee shop far away," the MFA tweet read.

"@X's testing a new feature illustrating actual physical location of accounts is to be praised & encouraged. Freedom of speech is a core principle. So is transparency & accountability. The 'citizen-journalist' on social media also needs to meet certain minimum standards. Kudos X."

Later in the day, it posted, "196,900 followers being lied to by fake 'journalist' claiming to be in Gaza. New @X feature reveals his actual location is Poland. Reporting from Gaza is fake & not reliable. Makes you wonder how many more fake reports have you read?"

In this digital age, foreign ministries and major media outlets increasingly react to real-time online narratives. If those narratives are being generated by fake accounts, posing as civilians in a war zone, the consequences are far-reaching.

Musk, who visited the sites of the Hamas attacks in southern Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu six weeks after Oct. 7, and his X team may not have anticipated that a simple transparency tool would expose an international disinformation network. But intentionally or not, the platform has forced a degree of accountability into online war reporting that did not exist before.

Originally published at JNS.org