FILE PHOTO: The logo of social media platform X is seen on a mobile phone in this illustration taken August 30, 2024, in Brasilia, Brazil.
Credit: Reuters
Last month, X (formerly Twitter), in a bid to curb misinformation on its social media platform, announced to bring a new country label to each user's public account profile.
Now, the new feature is being enabled in global regions including India, the US, Africa, Macedonia, and Europe.
The platform pulls up the origin country data from signup IP addresses, app store regions, and access history to show origins under the 'About this account' section.
This new security feature has been hailed by most users worldwide, as it sheds light on the people's origin and unravels shady accounts propagating misinformation on X.
Besides fake news, the country of origin label also establishes links between users operating from enemy countries to spread an anti-national agenda.
During the brief India-Pakistan military stand-off in May 2025, several false information were shared on social media platforms. One such related fake news was that an Indian Air Force Rafale fighter jet was shot down, but in reality, there was no official loss of a fighter or any pilot during the skirmish.
While most people are commending the new feature, they also urge the platform to be more specific with the country label and not offer the 'continent' option, as this masks the user's true nationality. As noted above, several Pakistani-origin accounts (with Indian names) shared false information on the platform.
Here are some comments by users on the X platform:
To check the country of origin of X platform:
Step 1: Go to an account page >> Select 'Joined' tab
Step 2: Scroll down to find the Account based in 'origin' country
In a related development, Google has also waged war on online scams in India.
Google has introduced Scam Detection feature in Pixel phones. It runs on powerful AI to detect and warn the device owner of speech patterns commonly used by scammers on phone calls.
It is available to Pixel 9 and newer models users in the UK, Ireland, India, Australia and Canada.
Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech