A quiet revolution is about to transform your experience on Facebook and Instagram. Meta, the parent company of these social networks, is launching a new approach to combat misinformation. No more external fact-checkers, make way for "Community Notes".
Meta, the social media giant, is preparing to disrupt the way information is verified on its platforms. Starting March 18, the company will launch a test of its new "Community Notes" system in the United States, gradually replacing the third-party fact-checking program implemented in 2016.
The stated objective is to allow the community itself to contextualize potentially misleading or incomplete content. The principle of "Community Notes" is largely inspired by the system already in place on X (formerly Twitter).
How will "Community Notes" work?
Voluntary users, called contributors, will be able to add context notes to posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. These notes, limited to 500 characters, must include a link to a reliable source to support their content. To be published, a note must be deemed useful by contributors who usually have divergent opinions. This approach aims to ensure a certain balance and reduce potential bias. Meta emphasizes that it will not be the company that decides which content will be annotated, but rather the community itself.
Initially, approximately 200,000 people in the United States have signed up to become contributors. To participate, you must be of legal age, have an active account for at least six months and in good standing, and have a verified phone number or two-factor authentication enabled.
Meta plans to roll out this feature gradually, starting by testing the writing and rating system before making them visible on posts. Initially, Community Notes will be available in six widely spoken languages in the United States: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese. The company says this approach should be less biased than the third-party fact-checking program and work on a larger scale once fully operational. However, questions remain about how effective this system will actually be at stemming the spread of misinformation, particularly because the notes will not affect the visibility or reach of annotated content. Eventually, Meta aims to expand Community Notes to global scale. In the meantime, the current third-party fact-checking program will remain in place in other countries. This gradual transition will allow us to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of this new approach in combating misinformation on social media.
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