Recent activation of location feature on 𝕏, unmasks political disinformation networks targeting Israel
After 𝕏 rolled out the new feature, dozens of foreign influence accounts were quickly deleted
Social media company 𝕏.com, formerly Twitter, recently rolled out an update to its site, intended to increase transparency and accuracy regarding popular accounts on the platform, by revealing the country or region where an account is based.
The feature hailed by 𝕏’s Nikita Bier, Head of Product, as “an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square.” Bier also stated that the change was the first of “many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on 𝕏.”
However, after the feature went live, many users were shocked to discover that hundreds of social media accounts pretending to be Israeli or Palestinian, were in fact influence accounts being operated from foreign nations.
Dozens of accounts which claimed to offer an eyewitness perspective of the events in Gaza, turned out to be operating from thousands of miles away from the conflict, with some accounts identified as operating in Pakistan, Poland, the United Kingdom, or Southeast Asia.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted two different times on the revelations, saying it exposed the lie of “citizen journalists,” claiming to report on suffering in Gaza, while sitting thousands of miles away.
The. Gaza. Lie. Exposed.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 23, 2025
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.@X’s…
After the feature went live, many pro-Israel accounts began to check on several top “Gaza influencer” accounts, revealing the truth which many had already suspected.
An account which claimed to be a Gazan nurse from Khan Younis was located in Pakistan, while another account of a Gazan father of six, was apparently based in Bangladesh. It was not just pro-Gaza accounts which were revealed to be fakes, as several social media profiles claiming to be IDF soldiers traced to accounts in the United Kingdom or other Western nations.
Breaking: @elonmusk just turned on the location spotlight and the entire “Gaza resident” influencer industry & fake IDF soldier industry just imploded.
— Faerie 🧡 (@LiquidFaerie) November 22, 2025
Turns out the “eyewitness in Rafah living under bombardment” has been live-tweeting from a comfy flat in Islamabad while the… pic.twitter.com/qx0fWbH2Bj
The 𝕏 account Israel News Pulse, whose location data shows it to be based in Israel, posted a list of accounts which could be foreign influence accounts. While several of the accounts do appear legitimate, with location data matching Israel, others have been deleted or suspended since the post was made.
Fake Israeli Twitter Accounts Exposed by New Location Feature
— Israel News Pulse (@israelnewspulse) November 24, 2025
Networks of thousands of fake Israeli accounts posting and reposting anti Israel propaganda.
Below is a sample list of fake Twitter profiles pretending to be Israelis.
These networks are now being exposed, thanks to… pic.twitter.com/jHs2SXnLMD
Some of the accounts which had problematic location mismatches between the stated location claimed by the account user and the location data provided by 𝕏, were accounts requesting donations to aid the situation in Gaza.
An account supposedly belonging to an individual named Dima Alghrbawi, appears to be posting from Nigeria, raising questions about the use of the $34,000 raised by the account via GoFundMe.
The exposure of fake influence accounts was not limited to the Israel-Palestine conflict either, as users in India and Pakistan found out that foreign-run accounts were inflaming tension there as well. While in the United States, many accounts connected with the pro-Trump MAGA movement, as well as anti-Trump right-wing accounts, were revealed as foreign influence operations, attempting to sow political division within the United States.
While fake accounts and profiles have been a common occurrence since the beginning of social media, the use of such accounts to actively sway public opinion has risen with the monetization of high-profile accounts, referred to as “influencers.”
Some of the accounts exposed have pushed back, claiming to use VPN services for security reasons, while other accounts, apparently in recognition of the fraudulent activity, have closed down. Other accounts, which may not have had discrepancies regarding their location data, did show multiple name changes, or differences between the accounts’ activation locations and their posting locations.
The activation of the new feature highlights the the growing issue of attempts to sway political perspectives in the region, and across the world. It also appeared to confirm that much of the anti-Israel sentiment flooding social media over the past two years could be part of a coordinated attempt to delegitimize the Jewish State in the market of public opinion.
The Israel-based intelligence firm Cyabra identified more than 40,000 social media accounts pushing pro-Hamas narratives across a variety of social media platforms, including 𝕏, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
The firm found that some of the influence accounts posted hundreds of times per day, often using coordinated messaging, agreed-upon hashtags and other network effects, in order to amplify the propaganda, and make determining legitimate accounts much more difficult.
Middle East analyst Eitan Fischberger, who regularly posts about Israel, the Gaza conflict, and antisemitism, said the recent change confirmed what savvy users have known for years. He said the purpose of the campaign is to disrupt the American relationship with Israel.
“For years, those of us who follow this space have warned that there’s a coordinated foreign effort to inject toxic narratives into the American discourse around Israel,” Fischberger told the Jerusalem Post.
“What this new feature on 𝕏 is exposing is that many of the loudest accounts pushing these ideas aren’t even based in the United States. They’re posting from Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan – often while portraying themselves as Americans,” he said. “It confirms what many of us suspected: A huge portion of this conversation has been astroturfed, not grassroots.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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