Social media and tech experts are preaching caution as X, formerly Twitter, rolls out a new location feature meant to disclose which country account holders post from.
The move was promoted as a way to increase transparency on the social media platform and help users spot fake accounts.
But while some foreign actors have been exposed, others are now claiming their accounts display incorrect locations.
The Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) X account—which has more than 15,000 followers—links back to a location in Thailand.
A statement from its communications team disputes the label.
“APP is purely Alberta-rooted, with all strategy, policies and leadership centred in the province by dedicated local volunteers,” the statement reads.
“X’s new location feature, while innovative, raises critical questions about privacy and free expression.”
The APP is not the only account pushing Alberta sovereignty that has questions around its location tag.
CTV News counted five vocal X pages pushing separation that weren’t based in the province—or even country.
One boasts prominent followers like the premier, sitting MLAs and their staff.
Locations listed
Last week, some users noted accounts for the federal Liberal and NDP parties had their locations listed as the United States.
Those have since changed to Canada.
Timothy Caulfield, who works in Law and Public Health at the University of Alberta, says it’s a problematic trend.
“Our information environment is increasingly becoming a rage economy, and what we’re seeing is bad actors—foreign individuals—monetizing our polarization,” he said.
“(The accounts) don’t really have an interest in what’s going on. The sentiments are not genuine. They just want to get the engagement.”
Philip Mai, co-director of the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, says to read with patience.
“I would always take it with a grain of salt and see if somebody else I know and trust that has a proven track record of providing accurate information is also sharing it,” he told CTV News.
X relies on a user’s IP address, a unique identifier assigned to all devices that connect to the internet. If someone logged into X while travelling in a different country, their IP address would reflect that.
And some accounts utilize a VPN, which can disguise an IP address by replacing it with the address of the VPN server.
“So this is one more signal, but it’s not necessarily a definitive signal like some are portraying it,” Mai said.
As for the actual separatist movement?
Republican Party of Alberta Leader Cameron Davies says it’s picking up steam — with or without foreign help.
“It doesn’t come with pomp and circumstance, but it is shifting,” he said. “There are positive signs for us and our movement.”
Davies says he has a slight distrust of the online town hall and instead preaches the importance of “boots on the ground” and “face-to-face conversations.”
“Because at the end of the day, those are the ones that will move votes, not 20 cell phones strapped to a wall in Bangladesh,” he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
