Tue 25 November 2025:
X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, announced that this is part of a drive to “secure the integrity” of the site and allow users to verify the authenticity of the content they see there.
The location feature has already seen complaints about inaccuracy, but allegations about misleading operating locations for popular accounts have seen either them close shop or provide explanations to defend their legitimacy.
In a tweet on X on Sunday, Israel’s foreign ministry posted a screenshot from the feature of Dalloul’s account, which indicated that the journalist’s account was “based in” Poland.
“Reporting from Gaza is fake & not reliable. Makes you wonder how many more fake reports have you read?” the ministry said.
Dalloul is in the Gaza Strip. He lost is wife and two children in Israeli attacks last year. Another one of his sons was killed just hours after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire last month.
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? pic.twitter.com/sKjIDvLQbz
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 23, 2025
Shortly after the claim went viral, Dalloul publicly rejected the allegation, posting a video from inside Gaza and writing:
“Good evening. For those who claim I’m in Poland and posting from there, I just want to tell you: If you recognize buildings like these in Poland, please let me know. If you see tents and camps like this, tell me if there’s anything similar in Poland. Goodbye.”
“Tell me if you can recognise such tents and buildings in Poland,” he says, as he shows footage of Gaza’s levelled buildings and tents.
For those who claim that I am posting from Poland.. pic.twitter.com/v2ZW4sXVXA
— Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) November 23, 2025
As of now, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has not issued a correction, and X has not commented on the accuracy of the location tag applied to Dalloul’s account.
The ministry’s accusation has unintentionally drawn renewed attention to a growing body of reporting showing that many of the most active pro-Israel social-media influencers are not based in Israel at all—but in India and other countries.
A major investigative report by The New Arab found that Indian right-wing and Hindu-nationalist social-media networks have become “key amplifiers of pro-Israel disinformation and anti-Palestinian narratives.”
The analysis described India as “leading a global pro-Israel disinformation ecosystem”, producing vast amounts of viral content that frequently attacks Palestinians, spreads unverified claims, and mirrors talking points promoted by Israeli officials.
Many pro-Israel accounts, particularly those featuring attractive female IDF soldiers in their profiles, have been revealed to be inauthentic. One account called Aliya was also created and is based in Nigeria. Another, called Leah Shlomo, was deleted after the new feature was unveiled. Pro-Israel account Mariana Times, which has over 78,000 followers and supposedly belongs to an Israeli woman, is allegedly based in India.
Similarly, reporting from Euronews and The Diplomat highlights how Indian accounts, often aligned with Hindu-nationalist politics, circulate videos and posts alleging Palestinians are staging injuries or inventing atrocities. Many of these posts have been debunked by fact-checkers.
NDTV has documented how conflict-related disinformation, much of it pro-Israel, has become a monetized industry on X, with influencers in India and elsewhere earning revenue through sensationalized or misleading content about the war.
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Location controversy in the US
Users also discovered that many MAGA-branded accounts that pose as American are – based on information from X – overseas in countries like Thailand, Turkey and Nigeria.
There was particular confusion about the official X account of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as screenshots and video recordings allegedly showing the department’s account being located in Tel Aviv went viral on Friday.
https://t.co/32KUm3JeHL pic.twitter.com/mbFdamoqkb
— j! (@astrrals) November 21, 2025
“America is an occupied nation,” said one user in response to the images.
The location feature was suspended on Friday night.
While the DHS initially responded with a confused Trump meme on Saturday, the next day, it issued an official denial.
X’s AI chatbot Grok said in response to a query about the situation: “X’s new location feature briefly showed the DHSgov account as based in Tel Aviv, Israel, likely due to IP geolocation or a glitch. It sparked discussions, and X paused the feature for government accounts.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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