Elon Musk’s X to test Community Notes feature to spotlight widely liked posts

Elon Musk-owned social platform X (formerly Twitter) has introduced an experimental feature aimed at identifying well-liked posts across diverse viewpoints using its existing Community Notes system.

Traditionally used for crowdsourced fact-checking, Community Notes will now be tested as a tool for surfacing content that resonates broadly, even among users with differing opinions.

The announcement was made through the official Community Notes account on X.

 The pilot programme will allow a select group of contributors to evaluate posts that are gaining traction through Likes.

These contributors will be prompted to answer questions explaining why they like or dislike the post. 

Their feedback will help inform an algorithm designed to detect consensus among users from contrasting perspectives.

This effort builds on the same foundation used for Community Notes fact-checking. Rather than relying on simple upvotes or downvotes, which groups with shared biases can influence, Community Notes uses a “bridging algorithm.”

This system prioritises agreement between users who typically hold opposing views. A note is only published when it receives validation from contributors across the ideological spectrum, thereby increasing its credibility.

Although Community Notes has faced criticism for delays and its inability to keep pace with fast-moving misinformation, its balanced consensus model has gained attention, even prompting Meta to begin adopting similar methods for content verification.

“People often feel the world is divided, yet Community Notes shows people can agree, even on contentious topics,” the company stated in its announcement.

X plans to roll out this pilot to a small group initially, collecting data and community input before expanding it further.