Community Notes Testing Begins on Facebook, Instagram & Threads
- In a significant shift in content moderation, meta is introducing Community Notes, a crowd-sourced system designed to add context to posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
- As of March 18th, testing has commenced, allowing selected contributors to write and rate notes on content.
- "We’re going to take time to do this right," ensuring the system functions effectively before widespread implementation.
Meta’s Community Notes: A New Approach to Content Moderation on facebook, Instagram, and Threads
Table of Contents
- Meta’s Community Notes: A New Approach to Content Moderation on facebook, Instagram, and Threads
- meta’s Community Notes: Your Questions Answered
- What are Meta’s Community Notes?
- How Does Meta’s Community Notes Work?
- What are the Guidelines for Community Notes Contributors?
- What Technology is Meta Using to Build Community Notes?
- Why is Meta Introducing Community Notes?
- What is the Future Rollout Plan for community Notes?
- How Does Community Notes Differ From Fact-Checking?
- Will Fact-Checkers Still Be Involved?
In a significant shift in content moderation, meta is introducing Community Notes, a crowd-sourced system designed to add context to posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. This initiative, starting in the United States, aims to provide users with additional information and diverse perspectives on various content types.
Testing Begins for community Notes
As of March 18th, testing has commenced, allowing selected contributors to write and rate notes on content. This marks a departure from the previous third-party fact-checking program, signaling a move towards community-driven content evaluation.
The rollout will be gradual. “We’re going to take time to do this right,” ensuring the system functions effectively before widespread implementation. Approximately 200,000 potential contributors in the U.S. have already signed up across all three platforms, with the waitlist remaining open.
How Community Notes Works
The core principle behind Community Notes is to leverage the collective knowledge of the community to provide context to posts. Here’s a breakdown of how it functions:
- The system mirrors the approach of X’s Community Notes, where users add context to posts.
- Meta will not dictate what gets rated or writen; instead, community contributors will drive the process.
- To prevent bias, notes will only be published if contributors with diverse viewpoints broadly agree on them. “This isn’t majority rules. No matter how many contributors agree on a note, it won’t be published unless people who normally disagree decide that it provides helpful context.”
- Each Community Note is limited to 500 characters and must include a link to support the note’s claims.
Contributor guidelines
to ensure the quality and reliability of Community Notes, specific guidelines are in place for contributors:
- Initially, author names will not be attached to notes to encourage ratings based on the helpfulness of the context provided.
- Contributors must be over 18, have an account that is more than 6 months old and in good standing, and have a verified phone number or be enrolled in two-factor authentication.
- The feature will initially be available in six languages commonly used in the United States: English, Spanish, chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese, with plans to expand to other languages over time.
- Contributors can submit notes on almost any form of content,including posts by Meta,its executives,politicians,and other public figures,but not on advertisements initially.
Building Community Notes: Leveraging Open Source Technology
Meta is adopting a pragmatic approach to building Community Notes, leveraging existing technology and community insights.
- Initially, Meta will use X’s open-source algorithm as the foundation for its rating system. “We won’t be reinventing the wheel.Initially we will use X’s open source algorithm as the basis of our rating system.”
- the rating system will consider each contributor’s rating history and evaluate which contributors typically disagree.
- The open-source nature of X’s algorithm allows Meta to build upon existing research and improve the system for its platforms. “As X’s algorithm and program information is open source – meaning free and available for anyone to use – we can build on what X has done, learn from the researchers who have studied it, and improve the system for our own platforms.”
- The development process is iterative, with ongoing learning and improvements based on contributor feedback and real-world usage. “We’re building this in the open while learning from contributors and seeing how it works in practice in our products. We don’t expect this process to be perfect but we’ll continue to improve as we learn.”
The Rationale Behind Community Notes
The shift to Community Notes is driven by a desire for a less biased and more scalable content moderation system. The previous third-party fact-checking program, while initially promising, faced challenges related to bias and limited scope.
Community Notes aims to address these issues by:
- Allowing more people with diverse perspectives to add context to a wider range of content. “Community Notes allow more people with more perspectives to add context to more types of content…”
- requiring agreement between different people for a note to be published, acting as a safeguard against organized campaigns and bias.
- Avoiding penalties associated with fact-checked posts,such as reduced distribution. “Notes also won’t have penalties associated with them the way fact checks did…Notes will provide extra context, but they won’t impact who can see the content or how widely it can be shared.”
Future Rollout and Global Expansion
Meta plans to roll out Community Notes across the United States after initial beta testing confirms the program’s effectiveness. Once Community Notes are fully implemented, third-party fact-check labels will no longer appear in the U.S., although fact-checkers are welcome to become Community Notes contributors.
The long-term goal is to expand Community Notes to users worldwide, but this will be a phased approach. Until Community Notes are launched in other countries, the third-party fact-checking program will remain in place.
meta’s Community Notes: Your Questions Answered
Meta is rolling out Community Notes, a new approach to content moderation on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. This Q&A provides a thorough overview of the program, its mechanics, and its potential impact.
What are Meta’s Community Notes?
Meta’s community Notes is a crowd-sourced system designed to add context to posts across facebook, Instagram, and Threads. It allows users to contribute notes that provide additional information and diverse perspectives on various content types.It mirrors X’s (formerly Twitter) Community Notes functionality.
Key Takeaways:
Crowd-sourced: Relies on community contributions for content evaluation.
Adds Context: Provides additional information and perspectives.
multiple Platforms: Implemented across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
How Does Meta’s Community Notes Work?
The system functions by allowing selected contributors to wriet and rate notes on content. These notes are then displayed to users if they meet certain criteria, ensuring diverse viewpoints are considered.
Core Functionalities:
Contributor-Driven: Community contributors drive the rating and creation of notes.
Bias Prevention: Requires broad agreement among contributors with diverse viewpoints for publication.
Concise notes: Each note is limited to 500 characters and must include a link to support its claims.
What are the Guidelines for Community Notes Contributors?
To maintain the quality and reliability of Community Notes, contributors must adhere to specific guidelines.
Key Guidelines:
anonymous Contributions (Initially): Author names are initially not attached to notes.
Eligibility: Contributors must be over 18, have an account that is more than 6 months old and in good standing, and have a verified phone number or be enrolled in two-factor authentication.
Language Availability: Initially available in six languages commonly used in the United States: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and portuguese.
Content coverage: Contributors can submit notes on almost any form of content, including posts by Meta, its executives, politicians, and other public figures, but not on advertisements initially.
What Technology is Meta Using to Build Community Notes?
Meta is leveraging existing technology to build Community Notes,adopting a pragmatic approach.
Tech Highlights:
X’s Open-Source Algorithm: Meta will initially use X’s open-source algorithm as the foundation for its rating system.
Rating System: Considers each contributor’s rating history and evaluates which contributors typically disagree.
Iterative Progress: The process involves ongoing learning and improvements based on contributor feedback and real-world usage.
Why is Meta Introducing Community Notes?
The shift to community Notes is driven by a desire for a less biased and more scalable content moderation system.
Rationale:
Diverse Perspectives: Allows more people with diverse perspectives to add context to a wider range of content.
Safeguard Against Bias: Requires agreement between different people for a note to be published.
No Penalties: Notes will not have penalties associated with them, unlike fact-checked posts.
What is the Future Rollout Plan for community Notes?
meta plans to roll out Community Notes across the United States after initial beta testing confirms the program’s effectiveness. The long-term goal is to expand Community Notes to users worldwide.
Expansion Plans:
Initial U.S. Rollout: Testing commenced on March 18th, with approximately 200,000 potential contributors in the U.S.
Elimination of Fact-Check Labels: Once fully implemented in the U.S., third-party fact-check labels will no longer appear.
Global Expansion: A phased approach to expand community Notes to users worldwide.
How Does Community Notes Differ From Fact-Checking?
| Feature | community Notes | Fact-checking |
| ——————— | —————————————————————————————————————————————————————- | —————————————————————————————————————————– |
| Source | Crowd-sourced from diverse community contributors | Third-party fact-checkers |
| Bias Mitigation | Requires agreement among contributors with diverse viewpoints | Relies on the impartiality of fact-checking organizations |
| Content Scope | Broader range of content, including posts by Meta, its executives, politicians, and other public figures | Typically focuses on specific claims or statements |
| Penalties | No penalties associated with notes; does not impact content visibility or sharing | Can result in reduced distribution and visibility |
| Clarity | Author names initially not attached to notes to encourage ratings based on helpfulness; algorithm open-source | Fact-checkers typically identified; methodologies may vary |
| Scalability | Designed to be more scalable, allowing more people to contribute to content moderation | Limited by the capacity and resources of fact-checking organizations |
| Implementation | Rolling out gradually across platforms; initial testing in the U.S. | May vary by platform and region |
| Disagreement Rules| Requires people who normally disagree to decide a note provides helpful context to be published. Doesn’t work through majority rules, to prevent organized campaigns and bias | Relies on the fact checkers discretion and expertise in their assignd field of checking; notes require a factual and verified claim and reference. | Please note disagreement rules don’t apply* |
Will Fact-Checkers Still Be Involved?
Once Community Notes are fully implemented, third-party fact-check labels will no longer appear in the U.S., although fact-checkers are welcome to become Community Notes contributors. Until Community Notes are launched in other countries, the third-party fact-checking program will remain in place.