Meta Adopts X’s Community Notes Algorithm as Tech Giants Cross Paths Again

Once on the verge of a physical showdown, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have now shifted their rivalry into the digital space. This time, instead of trading jabs about a hypothetical cage fight, Meta is openly adopting technology from Musk’s X to implement a new fact-checking system across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

On Thursday, Meta announced that it would introduce Community Notes, a feature that allows users to add context to posts by providing explanations and sources. The company confirmed that it would build its system using the open-source algorithm developed by X, formerly known as Twitter, which has been running Community Notes since Musk’s acquisition in 2022. Meta plans to begin testing the feature in the U.S. starting March 18.

Community Notes function as a crowdsourced fact-checking tool where users can submit concise explanations, no longer than 500 characters, along with a supporting link to add context to potentially misleading posts. This approach differs from Meta’s previous fact-checking program, which relied on third-party organizations such as The Associated Press to verify content. Instead, Meta’s new system aims to increase transparency and community involvement in moderation efforts.

Since January, around 200,000 users have signed up to contribute to the Community Notes program across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Meta intends to roll out the feature gradually, eventually allowing contributors to add notes to posts from both public figures and private users. However, the feature will remain separate from Meta’s advertising system, meaning Community Notes will not apply to paid promotions.

The decision to implement Community Notes marks a significant shift in Meta’s content moderation strategy. The company believes that adopting X’s model will allow it to refine and enhance the system for its own platforms. In a blog post, Meta explained that the open-source nature of X’s algorithm enables them to “build on what X has done, learn from the researchers who have studied it, and improve the system for our own platforms.” While the current iteration of Community Notes is based on X’s algorithm, Meta has suggested that it may explore alternative or modified ranking systems in the future.

The success of X’s Community Notes system has been well-documented. A study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, released in April 2024, found that Community Notes on X were highly accurate and consistently cited credible sources. This positive track record likely influenced Meta’s decision to replicate the model.

While Meta’s move to adopt X’s technology may seem like an unusual pivot for a company that once competed fiercely with Musk’s platform, the road of technological exchange is not one-sided. Musk himself has expressed interest in open-source developments from Meta. In April 2024, Meta released Llama 3, its latest artificial intelligence model, which was made freely available for public use. Musk later acknowledged the model’s capabilities in a post on X, stating that it was “not bad.”

The relationship between the two tech moguls has been marked by both rivalry and occasional alignment. In 2023, talk of a physical fight between Musk and Zuckerberg dominated headlines, with the two billionaires exchanging public challenges before Zuckerberg eventually dismissed the idea, claiming Musk was “not serious.” While their feud never materialized into a physical confrontation, their companies continue to compete for dominance in key technological areas, including AI, social media, and content moderation.

Financially, both remain among the world’s wealthiest individuals. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s net worth currently stands at $319 billion, while Zuckerberg’s is estimated at $219 billion. Their fortunes have been largely shaped by their respective companies—Tesla, SpaceX, and X for Musk, and Meta’s suite of social platforms for Zuckerberg.

As Meta rolls out Community Notes, it remains to be seen how effective the system will be in combating misinformation. While X’s implementation has been largely successful, it has also faced criticism for allowing politically motivated or biased notes to influence how certain content is perceived. The effectiveness of Meta’s version will likely depend on how well it balances transparency, accuracy, and user engagement.

Despite past tensions, the technological interplay between Meta and X highlights a broader trend in the tech industry, where open-source developments and shared innovations are becoming increasingly common. Whether this newfound openness leads to greater collaboration between the two companies or simply fuels their ongoing competition, one thing is certain: the rivalry between Zuckerberg and Musk is far from over—it’s just evolving in new directions.