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🚨 Important info about X’s new “Location” & “Joined” features being rolled. These will show, for many accounts, an approximate connection location and the date the account was created and connected from. This is meant to increase transparency, but it can be VERY MISLEADING especially for Palestinians in Gaza. Here is why many people in Gaza Gaza may currently show as connecting from “Israel” or “Egypt”, even though they are physically in Gaza: 1) Large numbers of people in Gaza rely on Egyptian e-SIMs (donated by the global community) because local Palestinian networks have been destroyed or heavily restricted. When you use an Egyptian e-SIM, your traffic is routed through Egypt. Thus location often appears as "Egypt". 2) Mobile signal in parts of Gaza (especially northern and border areas) is picked up from nearby Israeli or Egyptian cell towers. Your phone connects to the strongest available tower, so the IP geolocation can be reported as "Israel" or "Egypt" even if you never left Gaza. 3) Some people use VPNs or proxy services to bypass internet blackouts and restrictions imposed on Gaza. A VPN will make the visible location wherever the VPN server is (e.g. Turkey, UK, Europe). In short: the location shown on X is usually just the exit point of your internet connection, not necessarily where you are sitting right now. This is why initiatives like @RadioWatermelon are more important than ever. We conduct on-camera video calls with people who request verification and confirm in real time, with visual proof of surroundings, sounds and context that the person is TRULY IN GAZA. No IP or e-SIM workaround can fake a live video call! Please, before accusing anyone of “faking” their location, remember that many of these accounts belong to people who have survived over two years of relentless bombing, displacement, starvation, and loss under Israel’s genocidal assault. Showing a location as “Israel” or “Egypt” does not mean they are safe or lying. It usually just means the terrorist apartheid regime has deliberately cut them off from normal internet access. Be respectful. Listen to the Palestinians. Amplify verified voices, and support the few verification and campaign promotion efforts that actually work, like @RadioWatermelon. Thank you for reading and for keeping your humanity even when it’s hard. We'll see you in our upcoming space on Sunday. xitter.cf/i/spaces/1MYxNlXMWnpGw