From "Community Notes slays" to "Community Notes being gamed": X's fact-checking feature comes full circle for Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s journey with X’s Community Notes has been quite the twisty tale. The feature, which started as Birdwatch, lets everyday users add context to posts that might mislead others. Back in December, Musk couldn’t get enough of it, posting “Community Notes slays” and touting it as a fresh way to tackle misinformation. He loved its open-source vibe, where anyone could peek at the code and data behind it.

Fast forward to now, and Musk’s singing a different song. He’s grumpy about how Community Notes is working, saying it’s “being gamed by governments and legacy media.” His big beef seems tied to a spat over info about Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Musk backed a post calling polls showing Zelenskyy’s 57 percent approval rating “not credible,” but Community Notes stepped in to challenge that. Now, he’s talking about “fixing” the feature, though he hasn’t spilled the beans on what that fix might look like.

Looking at Musk’s posts over time, you can see his feelings bounce around. One day, he’s cheering “Community Notes ftw” or calling it “awesome.” The next, he’s poking fun, claiming he’s “immune” to it, only for Community Notes to prove him wrong with a quick correction. It’s been a wild ride from fanboy to skeptic. But for now, all we can do is wait and see if there are any noticeable changes with the feature in the coming days or weeks.

Meanwhile, Meta’s jumping into the game. They just kicked off sign-ups for their own Community Notes on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Since yesterday, U.S. users over 18 with older accounts can join in, writing 500-character notes to clarify misleading posts.

The catch? Notes only show up if people with different views agree they’re helpful. Meta’s aiming for transparency, letting users shape the conversation.

So, where does this leave us? Community Notes is a big deal in the fight against misinformation. Whether Musk tweaks X’s version or Meta’s take catches on, it’s clear this idea’s got legs.