Meta will start testing its Community Notes model, with which it’s replacing human fact checkers, on Facebook, Instagram and Threads in the US on March 18. Notes won’t appear publicly on posts right away. The company wants to make sure the writing and rating system is working as intended before the notes start showing up for everyone.
Things will work in a similar way to Community Notes on X, Meta says, with the idea that users bring extra context to posts that could use more explanation, clarity or perhaps a correction. In fact, Meta will initially base its ratings system on X’s open-source algorithm. “This will allow us to build on what X has created and improve it for our own platforms over time,” the company said in its announcement.
Meta notes that it will adapt X’s algorithm and Community Notes program for its own platforms. It may change the algorithm to modify how Community Notes are ranked and rated. “We’re building this in the open while learning from contributors and seeing how it works in practice in our products,” Meta wrote. “We don’t expect this process to be perfect but we’ll continue to improve as we learn.”
Around 200,000 people have signed up as potential Community Notes contributors so far across Facebook, Instagram and Threads. The system will consider the rating history of each contributor and take into account those who tend to disagree with each other. It won’t necessarily matter how many contributors approve a note — Meta will only include one on a post when “people who normally disagree decide that it provides helpful context.” This, the company claims, is intended as a safeguard against bias.
Meta spun up its fact-checking program in 2016 with the idea that it would rely on expert third-party fact-checking teams to assess posts because it didn’t want to be the arbiter of truth itself. The company contends that experts have their own perspectives and political biases, which impacted choices about what and how to fact check.
Of course, Community Notes contributors will have their own biases but not necessarily the knowledge of subject matter experts. Still, Meta says that a consensus from people with a range of viewpoints will be enough for a Community Note to be published.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, said back in January that President Donald Trump’s reelection was part of the reason the company changed its approach, claiming that it was “a cultural tipping point” for free speech. For many years, conservatives have accused social media platforms of censoring their voices.
“Community Notes allow more people with more perspectives to add context to more types of content, and because publishing a note requires agreement between different people, we believe it will be less prone to bias,” Meta claims. “This requirement is also a safeguard against organized campaigns attempting to game the system and influence what notes get published or what they say.”
Fact-checked posts were often downranked in Meta’s algorithms but notes won’t affect a post’s visibility on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Notes will be limited to 500 characters and will require a link. They won’t include author names, at least at first. It won’t be possible to submit notes on ads at the outset, though contributors can write them for just about any other posts, including those from the company and its leaders, as well as other public figures.
To begin with, Community Notes will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Portuguese. More languages will be added down the line.
Meta intends to roll out Community Notes in the US once it’s content that the program is more or less working as intended. When the notes start to show up publicly, the company will no longer show new fact-check labels from third-party fact checkers in the US. Meta plans to adopt this approach around the world, but in the meantime it will maintain its fact-checking program in other countries.
However Meta talks up Community Notes, the system is unlikely to be a silver bullet for stemming the spread of falsehoods. Community Notes have not stopped the flow of misinformation on X, according to studies. Last month, X owner Elon Musk (now a “special government employee”) said he was trying to “fix” Community Notes, claiming that they were “increasingly being gamed by governments and legacy media.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/facebook-instagram-and-threads-will-start-testing-community-notes-on-march-18-151144820.html?src=rss