Meta has announced that it will begin testing its Community Notes feature on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in the United States starting March 18, 2025. This initiative will replace the company’s reliance on third-party fact-checkers.
Community Notes will function similarly to the feature on X (formerly Twitter), allowing users to provide additional context, clarifications, or corrections to posts. Initially, Meta will use X’s open-source algorithm for its rating system, with plans to adapt and improve it over time.
Meta aims to ensure the system operates effectively before making notes publicly visible. Approximately 200,000 users have already signed up to be potential contributors. The system will prioritize notes that achieve consensus among contributors with diverse viewpoints, rather than simply relying on the number of approvals.
The company’s decision to shift from third-party fact-checking is attributed to concerns about potential biases among experts. Meta believes that a consensus-based approach from a wide range of users will mitigate bias.
Community Notes will not affect the visibility of posts on Meta’s platforms. Notes will be limited to 500 characters and require a link. Initially, they will not include author names and will not be available for ads.
Community Notes will initially support English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese, with more languages to be added later.
Once Meta is satisfied with the program’s performance, it will roll out Community Notes in the US and discontinue new fact-check labels from third-party fact-checkers. This approach will eventually be adopted globally, while the fact-checking program will continue in other countries in the meantime.
Despite Meta’s optimism, the effectiveness of Community Notes in combating misinformation remains uncertain. Studies have shown that similar systems on other platforms have not eliminated the spread of falsehoods.
