Twitter, the social network now known as X by Elon Musk and his followers, has once again expanded its Community Notes feature. Users can now request notes on posts that they believe contain questionable statements or need context. The new option, which appears in the three-dot menu of posts on the desktop version, allows Community Notes contributors to fact-check information.
“X users can request a Community Note for posts they think would be useful,” Twitter says on its Community Notes page. “If there are enough requests, Community Notes contributors will be notified and can suggest a note. This way non-contributing users of X can contribute and contributors know where their notes might be useful.”
To request a community note, users must have a verified phone number associated with their profile. This requirement also applies to Twitter Premium subscriptions. Initially, a maximum of five requests per day will be allowed per account, but this number may increase if requests prove to be useful notes.
Community Notes is one of the key features Elon Musk has been pushing since acquiring the platform. Originally developed as “Birdwatch” on “Twitter pre-Musk,” the tool has been shown in several studies to be extremely useful in uncovering misinformation and curbing the spread of fake news.
However, Twitter’s over-reliance on community notes for content moderation is of major concern. Since Elon Musk took control of the company, he has significantly cut staff, firing 80% of employees, which has put increased strain on this collaborative review function.