Did X start showing where accounts originated and quickly rolled it back because it exposed Russian and Chinese bots?

1. X rolled out country labels as a transparency push

X’s head of product Nikita Bier announced testing of new profile transparency tools in October; the feature was piloted on employee accounts and then began a broader rollout that exposes country/region information, username-change counts, join date and app-store connection in an “About this account” pane ^{[2] [5] [3]}. TechCrunch and other outlets reported the November rollout and explained X’s intent: to give users contextual signals that could help identify inauthentic accounts and foreign influence ^{[1] [2]}.

2. The claim that it was “quickly rolled back” is not supported in available reporting

Multiple news pieces document the feature’s launch and user reactions in mid- to late-November 2025, but none of the provided sources say X retracted the feature immediately or because it uncovered Russian/Chinese bots ^{[1] [6] [3]}. Available sources do not mention a rollback; they describe a phased/gradual rollout and settings that let users choose how their location is shown ^{[6] [7]}.

3. Why people assumed it would unmask foreign influence — and why that’s plausible

Reports explicitly state one motivation: displaying country information could help users spot foreign influence operations and compromised accounts, because foreign-run operations often leave clues like app-store origin or IP-linked location and username-changes ^{[5] [2]}. Netizen reaction noted that “a lot of accounts are going to be exposed,” signaling public expectation the labels would reveal coordinated or foreign-run activity ^[4].

4. Limits of the country/region label — it’s a signal, not definitive proof

Tech reporting and X’s own descriptions emphasize these are signals to combine with other information, not proof: an account’s country data may reflect where it was registered or which app store was used, and people can move or use proxies/VPNs; X also notifies users if a proxy is detected ^{[2] [1] [6]}. TheDeepDive and TechCrunch warned the metric could be gamed or misleading and framed it as one tool among many to reduce inauthentic engagement ^{[5] [2]}.

5. User controls, opt-out and potential harms flagged by critics

KnowYourMeme and other outlets say the rollout included opt-out options and settings for region/continent display, but reporting also flagged concerns: exposing country could increase targeted abuse, discrimination or harassment based on region, even as some welcomed the feature for exposing propaganda actors ^{[7] [4]}. Public reaction is split — some call the feature a way to “uncover accounts used to spread propaganda,” others worry about safety and accuracy ^{[4] [8]}.

6. What the evidence does and doesn’t show about bots from Russia or China

Sources explicitly note the feature could make it easier to identify foreign-run accounts, but they do not provide documented cases from these reports where the labels revealed specific Russian or Chinese bot networks or where X removed the feature because of such findings ^{[5] [1]}. Available sources do not mention concrete follow-up actions by X tying the rollout to exposure of specific state-linked botnets ^{[1] [3]}.

7. Bottom line for readers assessing the viral claim

The factual parts are supported: X launched an “About this account” country/username-history feature in a phased rollout starting with employees and widening to users around Nov. 21–22, 2025 ^{[1] [3]}. However, there is no evidence in the cited reporting that X “quickly rolled it back” or that a rollback was driven by exposure of Russian or Chinese bots; available sources do not mention such a rollback ^{[1] [6] [5]}. The feature is intended as a transparency signal that can help spot suspicious accounts but also has technical and social limitations that the company and critics have acknowledged ^{[2] [4]}.