Two months after discarding third-party fact checks on Facebook and Instagram, the company announced that its upcoming community notes feature will use open source technology from Elon Musk’s X. This decision is part of Meta’s new approach to tackling misinformation.
Community Notes are the latest move in the meta: shifting content moderation into users’ hands. Modeled on X’s crowdsourcing system, contributors can add context to potentially misleading posts. Social Giant is scheduled to begin testing its features in the US next week
In a blog post on Thursday, Meta explained that Community Notes are driven by the same open source algorithms used in X. Over time, Meta plans to adapt the algorithm to suit the needs of Facebook, Instagram and threads.
“Many of you are familiar with X’s community note system, where users add context to posts. That’s the broad approach we’re employing,” Meta said in a blog post.
Plans to crowdsource meta misinformation checks
“X’s algorithms and program information is open source and means it’s free to use for anyone to use. You can build what X did and learn from the researchers who studied it and improve the system on your own platform,” Meta said. “As your own version is developed, we may consider different or tuned algorithms to support how community notes rank and evaluate them.”
How do community notes work?
Meta explained that the system is similar to X’s community notes. Here, users add context to their posts. Meta said it would not determine the rating or what was written. That responsibility will rest on contributors from the community.
To prevent bias, Meta said that the memo will not be published unless widely agreed by contributors with various perspectives. The company emphasized that this is not about majority rules. Even if many contributors agree to the note, it will not be published unless those who normally disagree with it also think it will be useful.
“Community Notes have a 500-character limit and must include a link to support notes,” Meta added.
Who can contribute to the community notes?
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg first introduced the community note ideas in January, positioning them as an alternative to traditional fact-checking. This change came with a broader change in Meta’s moderation policy.
Users who wish to contribute to the Community Note must be over 18 years old and have a verified phone number. However, contributors cannot submit ad notes. However, you can add context to other content, such as posts by meta, company executives, politicians, and public figures.
Content flagged in community notes cannot be appealed, but will not face any additional penalties. “Memos provide additional context, but they don’t affect who can see the content or how widely it can be shared,” Meta noted.
Despite the movement, Meta says community memos are not an alternative to content moderation. A spokesperson told CNBC that moderation efforts will continue separately.
For now, Meta is not planning to open-source versions of the community notes or release technical details. But Rachel Lambert, Meta’s director of product management, said she might consider doing so in the future.
So far, around 200,000 people have signed up to contribute to the community notes, and Meta is still accepting new applicants.
Neil Johnson, a physics professor at George Washington University, is studying how misinformation spreads online, and believes community notes can add useful context. Still, he warns that it is not a substitute for a formal fact check. Johnson noted that such systems are vulnerable to manipulation by groups with a specific agenda.
To prevent this, Meta said that agreement between multiple contributors is required to publish the memo. The idea is to prevent organized campaigns from affecting what notes are published or how they are expressed.
Meta plans to expand its community notes across the US if they are satisfied with the results of their initial tests. “We’ll continue to learn and improve that,” the company said.
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