Meta uses Elon Musk’s X algorithm for its new community notes

Meta is adopting X’s approach to content moderation with user-generated community notes.

Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have something new in common.

It turns out Meta is following in X’s footsteps on community notes, right down to the algorithm.

Zuckerberg said in a blog post on Thursday that Meta will use the open-source algorithm from Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, as the basis of its new content moderation system.

“We won’t be reinventing the wheel,” the company said. “This will allow us to build on what X has created and improve it for our own platforms over time.”

It added that it might experiment with different or adjusted algorithms as it goes.

Meta will start testing community notes in the US on March 18. 

The company says it’ll begin testing community notes on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in the US on March 18.

Meta said roughly 200,000 people in the US have signed up as contributors to the program, and the waiting list is still open. Meta will “gradually and randomly” begin choosing people from the waiting list and will test the writing and rating system before allowing any community notes to be posted publicly.

The company says community notes will be published only if users with a range of viewpoints agree they provide useful context. Notes will be limited to 500 characters and require a link to supporting material.

Meta announced in January that it was overhauling its approach to content moderation by replacing third-party fact-checking with crowdsourced community notes, a move that many interpreted as a rightward shift for its platforms.

At the time, Zuckerberg praised Musk’s approach to content moderation on X, and signaled Meta’s platforms would adopt a similar model.

“We expect Community Notes to be less biased than the third-party fact-checking program it replaces because it allows more people with more perspectives to add context to posts,” Meta’s blog post said.

Dozens of fact-checking organizations have warned the changes could lead to more misinformation spreading on the sites, which are some of the world’s most popular social media platforms.

Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and subsequently fired 80% of the platform’s staff, including many people working on content moderation. Previously known as Birdwatch, the community notes feature began rolling out worldwide in December 2022.