Friend,

If you’re still using Twitter/X, have you noticed something weird about Community Notes?

Elon Musk once said that X’s content moderation tool Community Notes is the “best source of truth on the internet by far.” Is it though?

We analyzed a sample of accurate Community Notes debunking misleading claims about the US election and found that 74% aren't being shown to users.

How do Community Notes actually work?

• Users can sign up to anonymously write and rate Community Notes, labels that add fact-checks or extra context to misleading posts.

• Proposed Community Notes are subject to a rating system in which members must answer if they’re helpful: yes, somewhat, or no.

• Community Notes are only shown to most users if they're rated as 'helpful' by a wide range of Community Notes members .

Despite displaying accurate information from reliable sources, most of the Community Notes we found didn’t have the necessary ratings to be shown – letting posts promoting misleading claims about the US election reach 2.2 billion views. Read the story in The Washington Post.

These misleading posts included previously debunked claims that: 

• Democrats are importing illegal voters 

• Donald Trump can't run for presidency 

• The 2020 election was stolen

Community Notes are simply not enough to counter misinformation. Ahead of elections, the spread of unchecked false or misleading claims can mislead voters and fuel distrust of the electoral process.

Democracy is too fragile to let Musk’s Community Notes go unchallenged. Share our new findings with your network and help us raise awareness about X’s failure to counter potentially harmful misinformation.

Musk’s behavior shows how self-regulation of social media platforms has failed. Lawmakers must demand that these companies invest in proper Trust and Safety teams, increasing transparency of their moderation efforts.

Best wishes,

The CCDH Team