Focus on the BIG picture.
Friday, Mar 14, 2025
Outside the box.
0:00
0:00
Meta Plans to Introduce Community Notes Feature in March as Part of Its Evolving Content Moderation Approach
The innovative crowd-sourced method will be tested, enabling users to provide context to content throughout Meta's platforms.
On Thursday, Meta Platforms Inc. revealed that it will begin testing its new "Community Notes" feature on March 18. This initiative signifies a departure from the company's former dependence on external fact-checking, shifting towards a crowd-sourced approach to content moderation.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the system in January, which aligns the company with the political shifts in the U.S. following the election of former President Donald Trump.
This announcement comes amidst criticism from Trump supporters who claim that conservative viewpoints are being stifled under the guise of fighting misinformation, a statement that professional fact-checkers contest.
Simultaneously, it has been reported that Meta has reduced its diversity initiatives and eased its content moderation policies on its platforms, especially concerning certain forms of hostile speech.
The existing fact-checking program, which partners with organizations like AFP in 26 languages, will remain in force until the new system is fully deployed in additional countries.
The Community Notes initiative allows users on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads to add notes and contextual ratings to various content.
Around 200,000 users in the U.S. have already registered as potential contributors.
To be eligible, participants must be over 18, have accounts older than six months, and be in good standing.
During the testing stage, the submitted notes will not be displayed immediately alongside posts.
Meta intends to gradually admit participants from a waitlist while thoroughly testing the system.
The company specified that the visibility of the notes will rely on contributors from differing perspectives achieving a consensus on their relevance, asserting, "This isn't majority rules." Furthermore, posts linked to Community Notes will not incur distribution penalties, unlike those flagged for fact-checking.
Contributors to Community Notes will be restricted to 500 characters and must include supporting links.
Initially, the feature will support six predominant languages in the United States: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese.
Meta has indicated plans to eventually expand this model worldwide, though it has stated that implementation will not be immediate.
In the meantime, traditional third-party fact-checking practices will continue to be effective in other regions.
Additionally, Meta aims to utilize an open-source algorithm sourced from X (formerly Twitter) as the backbone for its Community Notes system.
Concerns about the potential effects of this transition have been raised, including a warning from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who cautioned that such reductions in fact-checking and moderation could result in heightened hate speech and violence online.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the system in January, which aligns the company with the political shifts in the U.S. following the election of former President Donald Trump.
This announcement comes amidst criticism from Trump supporters who claim that conservative viewpoints are being stifled under the guise of fighting misinformation, a statement that professional fact-checkers contest.
Simultaneously, it has been reported that Meta has reduced its diversity initiatives and eased its content moderation policies on its platforms, especially concerning certain forms of hostile speech.
The existing fact-checking program, which partners with organizations like AFP in 26 languages, will remain in force until the new system is fully deployed in additional countries.
The Community Notes initiative allows users on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads to add notes and contextual ratings to various content.
Around 200,000 users in the U.S. have already registered as potential contributors.
To be eligible, participants must be over 18, have accounts older than six months, and be in good standing.
During the testing stage, the submitted notes will not be displayed immediately alongside posts.
Meta intends to gradually admit participants from a waitlist while thoroughly testing the system.
The company specified that the visibility of the notes will rely on contributors from differing perspectives achieving a consensus on their relevance, asserting, "This isn't majority rules." Furthermore, posts linked to Community Notes will not incur distribution penalties, unlike those flagged for fact-checking.
Contributors to Community Notes will be restricted to 500 characters and must include supporting links.
Initially, the feature will support six predominant languages in the United States: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese.
Meta has indicated plans to eventually expand this model worldwide, though it has stated that implementation will not be immediate.
In the meantime, traditional third-party fact-checking practices will continue to be effective in other regions.
Additionally, Meta aims to utilize an open-source algorithm sourced from X (formerly Twitter) as the backbone for its Community Notes system.
Concerns about the potential effects of this transition have been raised, including a warning from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who cautioned that such reductions in fact-checking and moderation could result in heightened hate speech and violence online.
