Meta Will Roll Out Community Notes in the U.S. Next Week

Next week, Meta will introduce one of its most significant changes to fact-checking across its platforms.

Starting March 18, Meta will roll out its version of Community Notes for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads users in the U.S. The system is modeled after the crowdsourced fact-checking approach Twitter introduced in 2021, which later became X’s primary method for addressing misinformation under Elon Musk.

Meta to Test Community Notes in the U.S. Before Global Rollout, Citing Regulatory Challenges in the EU

Meta executives emphasize that they want to refine Community Notes in the U.S. before expanding it to other countries. Given that the U.S. is Meta’s most profitable market, it serves as a critical testing ground. However, the company may be cautious about launching the feature in regions like the European Union, where regulators are currently scrutinizing X’s implementation of Community Notes.

The decision could also reflect Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts to align with the Trump administration, which has previously accused the company of censoring conservative viewpoints.

Zuckerberg first introduced these changes in January as part of a broader push to amplify diverse viewpoints on Meta’s platforms. Since 2016, the company has relied on third-party fact-checkers to verify information, but Neil Potts, Meta’s VP of Public Policy, told reporters on Wednesday that these systems were flawed—prone to bias, difficult to scale, and often inaccurate.

Potts cited examples such as Meta incorrectly labeling an opinion piece on climate change from Fox News and the Wall Street Journal as false. Additionally, Zuckerberg recently stated on Joe Rogan’s podcast that Meta should not have dismissed concerns about COVID-19 vaccines as misinformation.

Meta Seeks to Enhance Fact-Checking with Community Notes but Maintains Existing Content Policies

With Community Notes, Meta aims to reduce bias, improve accuracy, and create a more scalable fact-checking system to combat misinformation. However, the company clarifies that this system does not replace Community Standards, which still govern content related to hate speech, scams, and other prohibited material.

Meta’s overhaul of its fact-checking system comes amid broader efforts by tech companies to address concerns about bias against conservatives. X has been at the forefront of this shift, with Elon Musk positioning the platform as a champion of “free speech.” Similarly, OpenAI recently announced changes to its AI training approach, emphasizing “intellectual freedom” and pledging to avoid censoring certain viewpoints.

During a Wednesday briefing, Rachel Lambert, Meta’s Director of Product Management, stated that the company is modeling its new fact-checking system on X’s open-source Community Notes framework.

In February, Meta began accepting applications for contributors to its Community Notes program. These contributors will be able to submit fact-checking notes on posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Other users will then rate the notes as helpful or unhelpful, influencing whether they are displayed to the broader user base.

Similar to X’s approach, Meta’s Community Notes system identifies contributors who frequently disagree on posts. A note will only be displayed if users with opposing viewpoints agree that it is helpful.

Even if most contributors believe a post needs a Community Note, that doesn’t guarantee one will appear. Additionally, Meta states that posts or accounts will not be downranked in its algorithm even if a Community Note is attached.

Crowdsourced fact-checking systems like Community Notes have long been considered a promising way to combat misinformation on social media, but they come with challenges.

Studies Show Community Notes Enhance Trust and Reduce Misinformation Spread

On the positive side, research published in Science found that users generally perceive Community Notes as more trustworthy than third-party fact-checking labels. Another large-scale study from the University of Luxembourg showed that posts with Community Notes saw a 61% reduction in the spread of misleading content on X.

However, these systems often struggle with speed and coverage. Many posts don’t receive notes, or fact-checks arrive too late—often after a post has already gone viral. Because both X and Meta require consensus among contributors with differing perspectives, fact-checks are often delayed.

The University of Luxembourg study also suggested that Community Notes may not intervene quickly enough during a post’s most viral phase. A separate study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that while contributors provided accurate and relevant corrections for 81% of election misinformation posts on X, only 9% of those posts reached a consensus, meaning most never received a visible fact-check.

Read the original article on: TechCrunch

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