A NewsGuard investigation reveals that X's Community Notes system missed the vast majority of false claims during the U.S. midterm elections. The watchdog found that only 13 misleading posts were flagged, including several shared by Elon Musk himself.
The 93.1 per cent failure rate in election flagging
According to a study released Wednesday by the watchdog NewsGuard, the crowd-sourced verification system on X failed to flag 93.1 per cent of false claims related to the U.S. midterm elections. The research indicates that while the platform promotes Community Notes as a democratic way to ensure accuracy, the tool was largely absent when dealing with bogus allegations of election fraud ahead of the Nov. 3 vote.
One specific instance highlighted by NewsGuard involved a conservative commentator who falsely claimed that officials in California and New York had made it illegal for voters to show identification. Despite the fact that no such rule exists in either state, the post drew millions of interactions without receiving a corrective note.. This suggests a significant gap in the system's ability to intercept viral misinformation in real-time.
Four uncorrected claims by Elon Musk
The failure of the system is most evident at the highest level of the platform's hierarchy. NewsGuard reported that Elon Musk,the owner of X who boasts 241.5 million followers, advanced at least four false claims regarding the midterm elections. None of these posts were ever corrected by the Community Notes model, despite Musk's own public assertions that he is subject to the same crowd-sourced corrections as any other user.
This discrepancy raises questions about whether the algorithm for Community Notes is susceptible to power dynamics or partisan shielding . While Musk has described the tool as "awesome," the data suggests that the most influential accoutns on X may be the least likely to be held accountable by the crowd.
Meta's expansion into 16 Spanish-speaking countries
The struggle of X's model comes at a pivotal moment as other tech giants move away from professional fact-checking. As reported by AFP, Meta has begun testing its own version of a community-driven notes system in 16 Spanish-speaking countries across Latin America. this move follows CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to end Meta's third-party fact-checking program in the United States, citing concerns that such programs led to excessive censorship.
This shift represents a broader industry trend where platforms prioritize user-generated corrections over paid professional auditors. However,this transition is not without internal conflict; Meta's own Oversight Board has explicitly stated that Community Notes is not an adequate replacement for professional fact-checking. The tension between Zuckerberg's desire to avoid "censorship" and the Oversight Board's warning highlights a growing rift in how Big Tech defines truth.
X's silence on the NewsGuard findings
Despite the specific data provided by NewsGuard, X did not respond to requests for comment from AFP. This silence leaves several critical questions unanswered: specifically, why the algorithm failed to trigger notes on high-reach posts from Elon Musk, and whether the system is intentionally tuned to avoid flagging certain political leanings.
Furthermore, it remains unclear if the failure to flag 93.1 per cent of falsehoods was a result of a lack of user participation or a failure in the consensus algorithm that determines when a note becomes public. Without transparency from X regarding the internal mechanics of Community Notes, the public is left to wonder if the tool is a genuine safety feature or merely a performative gesture toward modertion.
Comments 0