Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year that the company is working to replace third-party fact checks with a “Community Notes” feature for Facebook and Instagram. While the official rollout is still months away, the social media giant has already started implementing it, with the first elements of the Community Notes feature available in Threads.
In a social media post X (formerly Twitter) and Topicsdeveloper and app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi reported that Meta has begun testing the Community Notes feature in Threads. Community Notes is a hidden feature of Threads for iPhone. Notably, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have also added dedicated review or support pages for this feature on their respective help websites.
As you probably already know, #Meta working on community notes and they have started implementing them on #Themes 👀
ℹ️ Your note is anonymous and may be published in a publication if it is rated as helpful. pic.twitter.com/WjdFDs2WzJ
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) January 13, 2025
The help site explains how this feature works. It says: “If you see a post that may be inaccurate or confusing, you can write a note with background information, advice, or information that people may find helpful. Your note may be published in the publication if it is rated as helpful.”
Based on a screenshot posted by Paluzzi on the help website, there is also a “Join Waitlist” button, which is likely intended to allow interested users to join the Community Notes program waitlist.
Meta explains the Community Notes feature is similar to the approach X takes, where “their community decides when posts are potentially misleading and require more context, and people with different viewpoints decide what context will be useful to other users.” This feature will be available for the first time in the US, with plans to expand to other countries within the year.