X rolls out support for posting Community Notes in India ahead of elections

Weeks before India’s national elections, Elon Musk-owned X announced it was rolling out support for publishing Community Notes – the company’s crowdsourced fact-checking program – in the key overseas market.

The first group of Indian contributors will begin posting notes starting today and more will be accepted over time, X said. Contributors typically provide more context to popular posts to debunk any myths or offer insights. broader information. These submissions are then rated by users on factors such as how useful they are or how accurate they are.

In December 2022, the social network allowed users to view community notes related to posts worldwide, but users in only a few countries could post such notes.

Over time, the company allowed its members in different countries to start posting community notes to better reflect the local context. With the latest rollout, the program has contributors in 69 countries.

Last year, the company also introduced Community Notes, formerly called Birdwatch, for images and videos.

India was one of the last major markets where community notes had not previously developed. With the national elections just weeks away, many platforms are working to combat potential election-related misinformation. However, X has not made any specific announcements regarding its efforts in support of Indian elections.

Although Community Notes was useful for fact-checking posts about X, it sometimes struggled to control the spread of misinformation despite contributors adding context to stories. The program could also face a tough test in India’s complex multilingual political landscape.

Last year, the company re-allowed political ads on the platform, which had been banned by previous management.

Twitter/X has had a difficult presence in the Indian market, particularly due to its legal battle against the government for ordering the platform to block certain posts. Earlier this year, X hid some accounts and posts related to farmers’ protests in India due to orders from authorities. At the time, the company reiterated that an appeal against the blocking orders was still pending in court.

Last year, Musk said in a conversation with the BBC that India’s social media rules are quite strict and the company “cannot go beyond the country’s laws.”