Meta has replaced its independent fact-checking program in the US with a crowdsourced Community Notes system, drawing inspiration from X (formerly Twitter). 

• Platforms Affected: The change will be implemented on Facebook and Instagram.

Reasons Behind Meta’s Decision to End Fact-Checking

• Concerns About Bias
  • Meta believed that fact-checkers had their own biases, influencing their decisions on what to review and how to evaluate content.
• Political Pressure
  • The company faced significant political pressure from new administrations and their supporters, impacting its content moderation strategies.
• Loss of Trust
  • Meta felt the fact-checking program in the US eroded trust among users rather than building it.
• Focus on Free Speech
  • The decision aligns with Meta’s shift toward promoting free speech by simplifying content policies and removing restrictions on certain topics.
• Transition to Community-Driven Model
  • By introducing “Community Notes,” Meta aims to involve users in evaluating content, addressing these issues in a more inclusive and participatory way.

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What Are Community Notes?

• Community Notes allow users to add factual context to posts.
• Originally introduced as “Birdwatch” on Twitter in 2021.
  • Later, it was rebranded and expanded to 44 countries under Elon Musk’s ownership.
• This note shows up below  a post when enough contributors vote for the context citing it as helpful. 
• How does it work?
  • Users add context to posts that may be misleading or lack information.
  • Notes appear under posts as “Readers added context” with supporting sources.
  • Other users can vote on whether the added note is helpful or not.
• Eligibility for Contributors:
• • Account older than six months.
  • Verified phone number.
  • No rule violations.
  • Community note gives protection to the contributors in the form of auto-generated aliases to avoid them from being identified and targeted. 

Challenges of Community Notes

• Risk of Manipulation: Crowdsourced systems are vulnerable to coordinated attempts to promote specific narratives.
• Community Notes may fail to stop misinformation from spreading to other platforms.
• Nuanced political content may be harder to fact-check through a crowdsourced approach.
• Bias: There’s a risk of bias if the contributors do not represent a diverse range of perspectives
• Low-Quality Contributions: The system can be overwhelmed by spammy or low-quality notes, affecting its overall effectiveness.

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