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X, the social media platform led by Elon Musk, is rolling out new profile features aimed at increasing transparency and helping users verify the authenticity of accounts. The update comes in response to the growing challenge of sophisticated, AI-powered bots that can convincingly mimic human behavior, making it harder for users to discern who they are interacting with online.
The platform will begin experimenting with a new section on user profiles that displays previously hidden metadata. According to X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, this initiative is designed to provide users with more context about the accounts they follow and the content they read. Among the new details being tested are the date an account was created, the number of times its username has been changed, and the primary way the user accesses the service, such as via iOS, Android, or the web. These new profile transparency tools are intended to act as signals that can help identify suspicious activity.
Most notably, the feature will display the country users are posting from, a move intended to provide geographical context to posts and conversations. The company stated that this location data, tied to recent posting activity, will supplement optional profile fields with system-generated signals. This effort is part of a broader strategy to restore confidence on the platform by giving the audience a clearer understanding of who is behind the content they see. The objective is to enhance trust and context on the platform, enabling people to better evaluate the credibility of posts and profiles.
This push for transparency represents X's latest attempt to address the ongoing trust issues that plague many social media networks. As artificial intelligence continues to advance, providing users with more tools to assess account authenticity is seen as a critical step. By making this metadata visible, X aims to empower its community to more effectively identify potential misinformation campaigns and inauthentic behavior. Whether these measures will be mandatory or optional for users has not yet been fully clarified by the company.
