CRC Spotlight: From Rollout to Fallout: The Impact of X’s Location Transparency Feature

This Spotlight article examines X’s new transparency feature, which introduces profile-level location indicators, installation origin, and possible VPN or proxy usage, and situates this added visibility within the operational context of digital Hostile Influence Campaigns (HICs).

For Influence Defence practitioners, the introduction of these behavioral indicators expands the existing toolset and provides a valuable confidence booster, supporting inauthentic activity detection efforts. This is exemplified by the exposure of an ongoing Iranian FIMI network, which was used for cognitive manipulation and Information Disorder proliferation on the platform.

However, the article notes that FIMI researchers should interpret location metadata with caution. Finally, it predicts that the increased transparency may prompt adjustments in threat actor TTPs and might even create tactical opportunities for adversaries, generating further challenges that will shape future investigations.

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From Rollout to Fallout; The Impact of X’s Location Transparency Feature.pdf

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