The photo-sharing app is said to be developing the feature Community Notes, as per reports, just when its parent company Meta had announced the discontinuation of its existing fact-checking program. The new feature, as the name suggests, is said to allow users to add extra context or even opinions to posts. It is first being tested on Threads with Instagram.
Notes de la communauté for supplement post context
From inside information leaks, users will be able to write community notes on Instagram posts. The function will be accessed by tapping on the three vertical dots next to a post. The new option will be labeled “Write community note,” positioned above the “Report” icon.
The feature is designed to let users offer their insights, background information, or opinions on content they deem misleading. If a note is deemed useful by the community, it will be displayed under the post, adding a layer of transparency and context. While the exact process for selecting users for writing notes and how they will be rated is still unclear, the move aims to offer more diverse perspectives on posts.
Meta Made Shift from Fact-Checking to Community Notes
That happens right after the revelation of Meta halting its program on fact-checking due to complaints of censoring and severe policies regarding its contents. Zuckerberg writes, in the thread of consecutive posts, Meta would go back to its routes in free expressions, and grant people more freedom on its systems. He elaborated that policy-related issues around topics of immigration or gender, labeled by some of mainstream opinion as censorship-related, should no longer occur on Meta sites as there will not be strict controls of these elements in its programs.
Community Notes Popularized by X (formerly Twitter)
The feature of Community Notes has already been popularized by X (formerly known as Twitter) since its launch in 2021. It has gained much more attention after Elon Musk took over the platform. Although it has gained popularity, the feature has also received much criticism, stating that it provides too much power to a small group of users and disempowers independent fact-checking organizations.
Implications for Instagram Users
The Instagram Community Notes feature, though not launched officially yet, will first hit the US and then all other regions. This is an important change in how social media platforms are supposed to deal with content moderation and crowdsourced input rather than solely relying on fact-checking organizations.
With the current emphasis from Meta on user-generated content and opinion-based insights, it is yet to be seen how this feature will interact with the way information is shared and viewed by the vast amounts of users across Instagram.