85% of community notes on X remain invisible to users: Report

A new study by Spanish fact-checking organisation Maldita has found that Community Notes on X rely heavily on the same professional fact-checking sources previously used by Meta in its third-party process. According to a report by Poynter, professional fact-checkers ranked among the top three most-cited sources in Community Notes, with users trusting notes that reference accredited organisations. This, in turn, helps these notes appear faster on misleading posts, addressing misinformation before it spreads further.

Despite this, the study revealed that 85% of Community Notes on X remain invisible to users. On average, only 8.3% of proposed notes become visible, rising to 15.2% when linked to a verification organisation. The low visibility rate is attributed to Community Notes' requirement for consensus among users with differing political views before a note is shown.

Maldita's study suggests that platforms should reconsider their threshold for agreement to prioritise factual accuracy. The concern is that the consensus-based model may prevent the timely display of accurate information, particularly on politically sensitive topics.

Additionally, X's Community Notes system has faced issues with organised groups of contributors coordinating to influence the visibility of notes based on political or philosophical alignment. This challenge, acknowledged by X owner Elon Musk, raises questions about the effectiveness of the system in combating misinformation.