X’s Community Notes Feature Sees Major Drop in Participation
X’s Community Notes, a feature that lets users add fact-checks and context to misleading posts, is losing steam. Fewer people are submitting notes, and fewer notes are being shown on posts, according to an NBC News analysis.
Earlier this year, Community Notes hit a peak of nearly 120,000 user-submitted notes in January. But by May, that number dropped by more than half, to fewer than 60,000. Since only a small fraction of notes actually get posted, the decline means fewer corrections are appearing on the platform.
X owner Elon Musk once praised Community Notes as a key tool to fight misinformation. But he now rarely mentions it. In February, Musk claimed—without proof—that foreign governments were manipulating the system. Around the same time, note submissions started falling.
How Community Notes Works
For a note to appear on a post:
- An approved user writes a note.
- Other users vote on whether it’s helpful.
- An algorithm decides if the note should be shown.
X says the drop in notes is due to “natural swings” based on world events. A spokesperson said last year had more big events (like elections) that needed fact-checking. They also claimed X’s algorithm is now better at reducing misleading posts, so users feel less need to write notes.
Why This Matters
- Misinformation is still spreading—false claims about wildfires, government agencies, and other topics have gone viral on X this year.
- Europe could crack down—the EU’s Digital Services Act requires platforms like X to limit misinformation. If Community Notes keeps declining, X might face legal trouble.
- Trust in the system could collapse—if users stop seeing notes, they may stop believing the feature works, leading to even fewer contributions.
Background
Community Notes started as “Birdwatch” in 2021, before Musk bought Twitter. After Musk took over, he expanded the feature globally while cutting other moderation efforts. By 2024, it was growing fast—even Meta and TikTok copied the idea.
But now, with fewer notes being written and technical glitches sometimes hiding them, the system is weakening. Some users are turning to X’s AI chatbot, Grok, for fact-checking instead.
Experts warn that if users lose faith in Community Notes, the fight against misinformation on X could get even harder.
“When users stop seeing notes, they stop believing the system works,” said social media expert Matt Navarra. “Once trust dies, the system fails.”
