Meta begins accepting applications for its Community Notes program

Social media giant Meta announced Thursday that it’s taking applications for its Community Notes system, which is intended to replace the company’s fact-checkers.

In a blog post, the Facebook parent explained that users in the U.S. can sign up for the program starting this week. To be eligible, users must have an account older than six months in good standing, be over 18 years old and have a valid phone number.

The company said Community Notes will start popping up under posts in the U.S. over the next few months, but didn’t offer details on when the program will be available internationally.

Users in the program can write Community Notes on posts they believe to be misleading and vote on other notes they deem useful. The notes must explain why the information in a post is misleading or false and link to contextual information.

“For a Community Note to be published on a post, users who normally disagree, based on how they’ve rated Notes in the past, will have to agree that a Note is helpful,” Meta wrote. “Notes will not be added to content when there is no agreement or when people agree a note is not helpful.”

Unlike the past content moderation regime, Community Notes on Threads, Instagram and Facebook will be written only by users and not Meta employees. The company didn’t say if its policies about what kinds of posts can be taken down will change with Community Notes.

“We intend to be transparent about how different viewpoints inform the Notes displayed in our apps,” Meta continued. “And are working on the right way to share this information.”

Meta’s incoming Community Notes system mirrors the policy adopted by Elon Musk’s X last year. After dismantling most of the site’s content moderation team, the social media platform’s owner introduced the system that lets users vote on the truthfulness of a post. Mr. Musk says the system is more democratic and has touted instances when Community Notes have appeared under his posts.

Meta’s shift away from official fact-checkers is a major pivot on content moderation as the company adjusts to the Trump administration. Meta has long been the target of criticism from conservatives who felt that the company’s platforms unfairly targeted users with their views. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg seemed to confirm this, saying in a view last month that the company’s fact-checkers were politically biased and often made mistakes.