Report Finds Community Notes Fail To Address Proven Misinformation on X

Meta Launches Community Notes System Despite Flaws, Reports Highlight Concerns Over Spread of Misinformation
Meta, the parent company of X, has started rolling out its new Community Notes system, which aims to replace third-party fact-checkers and hand over responsibility for combating misinformation to users. However, a recent report has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the current Community Notes system on X. Bloomberg conducted an analysis of over a million Community Notes listed on X and found that the majority of them are never shown to users, despite many being deemed helpful and accurate. The report suggests that the system has failed to counteract the incentives for spreading falsehoods on the platform. In addition, the most cited sources of information that support the Community Notes system have come under attack from influential figures such as Elon Musk and the Trump administration, which has eroded trust in reliable sources of information.
According to the Bloomberg analysis, less than 10% of the Community Notes submitted on X are actually displayed on the app. This is largely due to the requirement that notes must gain consensus from users with differing political opinions to be shown. X's Community Notes system assesses different perspectives based solely on how notes have been rated in the past, without considering demographics or other user data. However, this approach means that notes on divisive political topics often go unseen, allowing misinformation to go unaddressed. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) also conducted an analysis of X's community notes and found that 74% of proposed notes that were accurate and deserved attention were never displayed to users. The impact of this is particularly concerning as X has 250 million daily users and is set to become the primary tool for combating the spread of misinformation. The CCDH report highlighted that the rejection rates of proposed notes, which range from 80% to 90%, indicate an inefficient and ineffective program. Furthermore, reports suggest that X's Community Notes system has been infiltrated by organized groups of contributors who manipulate the voting system.
These findings are consistent with another study carried out by Spanish fact-checking site Maldita, which revealed that 85% of notes remain invisible to X users. Some argue that these statistics prove the Community Notes approach is working by avoiding biased censorship, but the high rejection rates suggest an inefficient program. The CCDH report confirmed the legitimacy of many notes they assessed, emphasizing their importance in combating misleading information.
The current system's flaws are further exemplified by the fact that the opinions of average users influence the assessment of truthfulness and the need for additional context. This means that X and Meta can avoid content amplification controversies by shifting the responsibility to users. However, this model raises concerns, especially at a time when political figures like the President are prone to spreading misleading reports. With Facebook's vast user base of 3 billion, the adoption of a similar approach by Meta could potentially amplify misleading information within multiple communities.
The potential impact of this shift is significant, as it could undermine support for actions against Russia. For example, Russia's claim that Nazis are taking over Ukraine, which it has used to justify its attack on the nation, is highly disputed. While right-wing politicians have adopted this claim to weaken America's support for Ukraine, researchers and academics have provided evidence refuting it. However, due to ideological biases, this claim is unlikely to achieve cross-political consensus. Thus, the proliferation of misinformation at a large scale could reduce support for efforts against Russia and contribute to political groups diluting opposition. Only time will tell the true consequences of Meta's Community Notes system, but it is essential to reconsider this path before it is too late.