Elon Musk has vowed to “fix” X’s Community Notes feature, arguing that it is being exploited by governments and legacy media.
Since acquiring X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, Musk has replaced traditional fact-checkers with Community Notes, a system that allows users to correct misleading posts.
However, on Thursday, Musk expressed concerns that the system is being increasingly manipulated, though he provided no supporting evidence.
His frustration surfaced after Community Notes flagged false claims about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s approval ratings.
A Kyiv International Institute of Sociology survey found that 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy, contradicting claims promoted by Donald Trump.
Tensions have been rising between Trump’s circle—including Musk—and the Ukrainian government. Trump has controversially blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia, further straining relations.
Community Notes, initially launched as Birdwatch in 2021, operates similarly to Wikipedia, relying on crowd-sourced fact-checking.
While Musk sees this as a superior alternative to centralised fact-checkers, experts like Neil Johnson of George Washington University argue that it is an imperfect substitute for professional verification.
As Musk prepares to tweak Community Notes, questions remain about whether X’s misinformation policies will become more or less effective under his leadership.
