This week, X (previously Twitter) modified the functionality of its Community Notes feature, which crowdsources fact-checking. Instead of only being able to examine the note they are reading, users will now be able to evaluate all messages suggested as annotations to an X post. In other words, it will allow contributors to think about additional notes before leaving their rating, which may lead them to reconsider.
It’s a little change, but it might encourage Community Notes authors to think critically rather than nod and agree that a note is useful. As a result, the message is made available to all users of X underneath the post as a crowdsourced fact-check.
X claims this adjustment was necessary when evaluating notes because “contributors must have as much helpful information as possible.”
It also gives contributors access to opposing viewpoints, which can affect their thinking or make it more difficult to determine which of the suggested remarks is the most accurate and helpful. The modification mainly received good feedback, but it needs to be seen whether this will cause more contributors to change their opinions and decide that other alternate notes are more useful than the one they are currently visiting.
Two notes are offered in example X, where both could be useful. One clarifies a tweet’s error by pointing out that whales are, in fact, mammals, while the other claims that a disclaimer is unnecessary because the account is a parody. Both notes are accurate, but the second might persuade Community Note writers to delete the additional context from a tweet.
If the parody account was political and the statements “don’t need correction” were false information being distributed by one side, things may get more tricky. If people didn’t bother to review the account’s profile, where the version declared its parody nature, removing the note just because it is a parody account could be more detrimental.
Before Elon Musk bought the network formerly known as Twitter, Community Notes first debuted as Birdwatch in 2021. One of the platform’s more avant-garde features uses an algorithm to seek agreement among groups with divergent points of view before highlighting the user-generated fact-checks to other users. Contributors to Community Notes must also demonstrate competence by evaluating notes as helpful or unhelpful. They can gain points when their rating agrees with the community’s conclusion.
Under Musk’s management, the system has continued to be improved; most recently, community notes for films were introduced, along with other improvements aimed at streamlining the procedure and addressing low-quality contributions.
[Source of Information: Techcrunch.com]
