Tech giant Meta has announced plans to begin testing its new Community Notes feature across its platforms in the United States next week, shifting away from third-party fact-checking in favor of a crowd-sourced approach to content moderation.
The system similar to the Community Notes feature on X (formerly Twitter) was first revealed in January by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The move follows long-standing criticisms from supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump who have alleged that conservative voices were being unfairly censored under Meta’s previous fact-checking policies.
With the testing phase set to begin on Tuesday, Meta revealed that around 200,000 users across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have already signed up to contribute.
The feature will allow users to write and rate contextual notes on various posts, providing additional information on potentially misleading content.
To participate, users must, Be over 18 years old, have an account older than six months, maintain a good standing with the platform
However, Meta clarified that Community Notes will not immediately appear on content during testing.
Instead, access will be gradually expanded to more users, with the company fine-tuning the system before a full rollout.
While some studies suggest that Community Notes can be effective in countering misinformation—such as vaccine-related falsehoods—critics warn that the system may be vulnerable to political bias.
Research has indicated that X’s Community Notes often rely on findings from professional fact-checkers—something Meta has now abandoned in the U.S.
The decision to replace third-party fact-checking has sparked concern among experts. UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned that reduced content moderation could reopen the floodgates of online hate speech and misinformation.
Tech analyst Casey Newton also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the program, noting, “Meta has long said it doesn’t want to be an ‘arbiter of truth,’ but it has funded those arbiters for the past several years. If no one steps up to replace them, Community Notes will suffer—both on X and Meta’s platforms.”
Meta insists that the system is designed to prevent manipulation, with notes only being published if contributors from diverse viewpoints agree on their helpfulness.
Unlike previous fact-checked posts that saw limited reach, content flagged with Community Notes will not face distribution penalties.
For now, the Community Notes feature will support six languages, English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Portuguese
Meta also confirmed that its third-party fact-checking program will remain in place outside the US until Community Notes is expanded globally.
The company emphasized that it is “not reinventing the wheel” and will be adapting X’s open-source algorithm for its own use.
However, critics argue that the approach may struggle with politically charged content and could further deepen online divisions.
