Meta is set to begin testing a new crowd-sourced fact-checking initiative called Community Notes across its platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. This follows the company's January announcement that it would phase out its third-party fact-checking program in favor of this community-driven approach.
The testing phase will commence on March 18, initially involving approximately 200,000 potential contributors from the United States who have already signed up. A waitlist remains open for others interested in participating. However, notes will not immediately appear on content; the process will start with gradual and random admissions from the waitlist to test the system's writing and rating mechanisms.
The Community Notes model allows users to add context to posts similarly to X’s existing system. Meta emphasizes that it won't control what gets rated or written—this task falls to community contributors. To prevent bias, notes require agreement from contributors with diverse viewpoints before publication.
"Community Notes will have a limit of 500 characters and will need to include a link to support the note," Meta states. Initially, authors' names won't be attached to notes, focusing evaluation on content rather than authorship.
Contributors must meet certain criteria: being over 18 years old, having an account older than six months in good standing, and either possessing a verified phone number or being enrolled in two-factor authentication. The feature launches in six languages common in the U.S., with plans for expansion.
Notes can be submitted on most content types but exclude advertisements initially. The underlying algorithm for rating draws from X’s open-source framework, which Meta aims to adapt and enhance for its platforms.
Meta expects this new system to mitigate biases associated with third-party fact-checking programs by incorporating more diverse perspectives. "Community Notes allow more people with more perspectives to add context," they explain. Unlike past fact checks that could limit post distribution, these notes aim only to provide additional context without affecting content visibility or sharing potential.
Once confident in the beta testing results within the U.S., Meta plans a broader rollout while continuing improvements based on practical insights. Although fact-check labels from third parties will cease appearing once public notes launch domestically, those entities can still participate as contributors within Community Notes until global deployment occurs.
