X's New 'About This Account' Feature Uncovers Foreign Troll Activity on the Platform – Monday, November 24, 2025

X's new 'About This Account' feature has unveiled a significant presence of foreign troll activity on the platform. Designed to enhance transparency by revealing user location and account history, this feature has exposed the extensive scale of coordinated disinformation efforts targeting public discourse.

Who should care: AI product leaders, ML engineers, data science teams, technology decision-makers, and innovation leaders.

What happened?

X recently launched the 'About This Account' feature to increase transparency by providing users with detailed information about account origins, including geographic location and account history. This new transparency tool has revealed a substantial number of foreign troll accounts actively engaged in spreading disinformation across the platform. Analysis of the data surfaced by this feature indicates these accounts are part of coordinated campaigns designed to manipulate public opinion and influence conversations on a global scale.

This revelation has raised serious concerns about X’s current ability to detect and control such manipulative activities, highlighting vulnerabilities in its content moderation infrastructure. The findings underscore the broader challenge social media platforms face in maintaining authentic user engagement while combating sophisticated foreign interference. As a result, X is now under increased scrutiny regarding its content moderation policies and overall accountability in managing the integrity of information shared on its platform.

Why now?

This exposure comes amid a growing demand for transparency and accountability from social media platforms worldwide. In recent months, public and regulatory attention has intensified around foreign interference in digital spaces, especially on platforms with large, influential user bases like X. The rollout of the 'About This Account' feature aligns with a broader industry push to rebuild user trust and reinforce platform integrity. Social media companies are under mounting pressure to demonstrate effective measures against disinformation and to prevent their platforms from being exploited for malicious purposes.

So what?

The implications of this development are significant for the AI and data science communities. The uncovering of foreign troll activity on X not only highlights the persistent challenge of disinformation but also underscores the urgent need for more advanced machine learning models capable of detecting and mitigating such threats in real time. This situation calls for strategic investments in AI-driven content moderation and user verification technologies that can adapt to evolving tactics used by coordinated disinformation campaigns.

Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of developing robust algorithms that can identify subtle patterns of manipulation and neutralize coordinated efforts before they spread widely. For organizations relying on social media platforms for communication and engagement, understanding these dynamics is critical to safeguarding brand reputation and ensuring authentic interactions.

What this means for you:

• For AI product leaders: Prioritize building transparency-focused features that foster user trust and strengthen platform integrity.
• For ML engineers: Develop sophisticated detection models that can accurately identify and mitigate disinformation and troll activities.
• For data science teams: Leverage account data to uncover patterns and trends indicative of coordinated disinformation campaigns.

Quick Hits

• Impact / Risk: The exposure of foreign troll activity may trigger increased regulatory scrutiny and demand for stronger content moderation on social media platforms.
• Operational Implication: Organizations will likely need to invest more resources into AI-driven solutions designed to detect and combat disinformation effectively.
• Action This Week: Review existing content moderation policies and evaluate the effectiveness of current AI models in identifying disinformation. Prepare briefings for executive teams on emerging risks and potential strategic responses.