X using Community Notes to highlight posts that everybody likes
What's the story
X, the social media platform, is testing a new feature within its Community Notes program. The pilot project aims to highlight posts that are liked by those with differing opinions, thereby fostering common ground and bridging divides. The initiative was announced via the official Community Notes account and builds on the original idea of user-contributed context on posts gaining credibility, when found helpful by people who usually disagree.
Test details
The feature is being tested with a small group
The pilot project is now being tested with a small group of Community Notes contributors in the US. These contributors represent a wide range of perspectives and will see occasional callouts on posts, based on early and limited Like signals. The callouts invite these users to rate and provide feedback on the content they see.
Tech
Ratings will help develop an open-source algorithm
The ratings given by the contributors will be instrumental in developing an open-source algorithm that seeks to identify content appreciated across the ideological lines. X has said that the algorithm is currently "extremely simplistic," much like the early days of Community Notes scoring system. It looks at whether a post has been seen by multiple users, whether it received positive ratings, and whether it has avoided negative ones.
Future plans
Community input will help the algorithm evolve
Over time, X hopes the algorithm will evolve through community input and contributor feedback. The code for the algorithm is available on GitHub, in keeping with the platform's aim to "build in public." Notably, neither the presence of a callout nor contributor ratings currently affect a post's visibility/reach on the platform. However, it may change depending on feedback and success of the pilot project.