A single software update on Elon Musk’s X platform has triggered one of the most consequential shake-ups in online war reporting since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. A newly launched transparency feature — allowing users to see an account’s real-world location and name-change history — has exposed scores of “eyewitness” accounts claiming to be trapped in Gaza under Israeli bombardment as operating from thousands of miles away.

Within hours of the feature’s rollout, accounts portraying themselves as Gazan nurses, displaced fathers, humanitarian workers and even IDF soldiers were revealed to be posting from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia, the U.K., Turkey and Afghanistan. One widely followed account that raised tens of thousands of dollars while posing as a young Gazan civilian was tracked to Nigeria. Another, claiming to write emotional “poetry by candlelight in Deir al-Balah,” was traced to Russia.

Initially dismissed as isolated fakes, the pattern soon became undeniable. Many accounts had identical characteristics: newly created, generating rapid follower growth, featuring generic or AI-generated photos, and posting highly emotional content aligned with pro-Hamas messaging. Some even changed their location settings after being exposed, suggesting operators were watching in real time.

The revelations have now been acknowledged publicly by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which posted: “The Gaza Lie. Exposed.” The ministry praised the transparency feature, writing: “Freedom of speech is a core principle. So is transparency and accountability.”

But the story extends far beyond a few fake influencers. According to new data from Israel-based intelligence firm Cyabra, more than 40,000 accounts pushing pro-Hamas narratives have been identified across X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Together, they disseminated over 312,000 posts and comments, many posting hundreds of times per day. Cyabra says the operation is clearly coordinated — not accidental, not amateur, and not organic.

This means the fake “Gaza eyewitnesses” exposed by Musk’s platform are merely one visible surface of a broader propaganda network engineered to manipulate global opinion in real time. The implications are staggering. Foreign ministries, news outlets, human rights organizations and elected officials are responding to narratives increasingly shaped not by citizens in war zones, but by anonymous global operators posing as them.

Whether intentionally or by accident, X has now become the first major social platform to force accountability into digital war reporting. Musk — who toured the sites of the Oct. 7 massacre with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — has long promised to push X toward “truth through transparency.” With this latest update, the platform has inadvertently ripped the mask off a sprawling global propaganda machine.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)