Understanding Community Notes on Elon Musk’s Twitter: A Comprehensive Guide

Firstly, it’s essential to understand that there should be a significantly increased number of Community Notes on Elon Musk’s tweets. Community Notes, previously known as Birdwatch and now a feature of Twitter/X, are widely recognized as one of the few beneficial aspects that have endured through the chaotic initial year of Musk’s proprietorship. These notes are created by users and typically include links to reliable sources. They function similarly to Reddit posts, relying on upvotes (marked as “helpful”) and downvotes (marked as “not helpful”) for survival. Any user can contribute to these notes as long as their account has no strikes against it. However, only contributors have the privilege to view and vote on proposed notes before they’re officially stamped on tweets.

Musk often promotes Community Notes as an indication of his commitment to maintaining the quality of information on a platform that is riddled with intentional misinformation. This is a smart move on his part. A study has found that Community Notes enhance trust in social media, potentially attracting back users who’ve left the platform. Interestingly, Musk doesn’t need to manipulate the Twitter/X algorithm to evade these notes himself.

With nearly 200 million followers, even a small percentage of Musk’s devoted fan base can easily dominate the system. They can intercept and rate any proposed note on Musk’s account as “not helpful” and prevent him from acquiring another fact-checking badge. This strategy is particularly noticeable in instances where his tweets have crossed a line, such as retweeting a false story about a bomb at a Trump rally.

Musk’s tweets often contain misinformation. An analysis by the New York Times found that one-third of Musk’s tweets within a week in September were either false, misleading, or lacked crucial context. In July, the month Musk endorsed Trump, the Center for Countering Digital Hate identified 50 Musk tweets that had been debunked by independent fact-checkers. However, not a single one of them received a Community Note, and they were collectively viewed 1.2 billion times.

Currently, Musk ranks #55 on the unofficial Community Notes leaderboard, with 70 Community Notes so far. However, several accounts that Musk frequently interacts with rank within the top 10. Given Musk’s rate of spreading falsehoods, he could easily surpass them if oversight was fair.

So, what can we learn from the 70 fact-checks that were actually added to Musk’s account? We can see that Musk’s initial fibs were not that significant. However, as he progressed, the nature of his tweets became more concerning. Musk’s first week at Twitter saw him receive four more Notes, but they were harmless and even helpful.

Interestingly, Musk receives more Community Notes on his tech posts than his political posts. Moreover, Musk is more susceptible in his replies. Out of the 70 Community Notes on Musk’s tweets, a majority of them are on tweets where Musk is replying to someone. This is because the Twitter/X algorithm boosts Musk’s regular posts, ensuring he appears in your “For You” tab, even if you don’t follow him.

Lastly, Musk seems to have a love-hate relationship with Community Notes. On several occasions, Musk has invited the fact-check himself, often tagging @CommunityNotes on a tweet he wanted to quote and believed in. However, Musk rarely responds to the fact-check he’s invited.

Despite the efforts of Community Notes, Musk’s tweets still contain a significant amount of misinformation, especially regarding U.S. elections. This leads to the question: How much can Community Notes really do to curb the spread of misinformation on social media? Noted.