Meta will begin testing Community Notes across its major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Originally, the tech giant announced this innovation last January, stating it would end the third-party fact-checking program.
According to an article, the company will adopt the approach of X’s Community Notes system. Specifically, its version will be more of a crowd-sourced Community Notes method.
The testing program amassed almost 200,000 potential contributors in the US through sign-ups across their apps. While the waitlist remains open, Meta will start admission gradually and randomly. As part of the program testing, contributors will write and rate notes on content. However, Meta plans to take its time testing the system entirely before publishing anything.
A Closer Look at How Community Notes Work
Meta says that it does not get to decide on the content, but community contributors will. Publishing content requires “contributors with a range of viewpoints broadly agree on them” to avoid bias. In connection, the process is not majority wins. Individuals who commonly disagree need to approve that the content offers helpful context for it to get published, regardless of how many contributors agree on the note. A link to support the note will also be necessary in the process.
Furthermore, community notes will not feature the names of the authors, as it wants contributors to rate solely the content. Similarly, contributors are not allowed to post notes on advertisements.
Facebook’s parent company also wants Community Notes to perform better than its previous program.
“We expect Community Notes to be less biased than the third party fact checking program it replaces, and to operate at a greater scale when it is fully up and running,” Meta says, citing the unexpected challenges it faced in 2016.
Meta’s Community Notes testing will begin on March 18 in the United States. Nevertheless, it intends to bring the new approach to the rest of the world once everything is running smoothly.
