Weeks before India's national elections, Elon Musk-owned Company X announced it would be rolling out support for Community Note posting, its crowdsourced fact-checking program, in key international markets.
Mr. X said the first contributors from India will start posting notes today, and more contributors will be accepted over time. Contributors typically provide further context to popular posts to debunk myths or provide broader insight. These posts are rated by users based on factors such as the usefulness and accuracy they provide.
In December 2022, the social network made it possible to view community notes related to posts from all over the world, but only users in a small number of countries were able to post such notes.
Over time, the company has enabled members from different countries to post community notes to better provide local context. With the latest developments, the program now has contributors in 69 countries.
Last year, the company also introduced Community Notes, formerly known as Birdwatch, for images and videos.
India was one of the last major markets where Community Notes did not expand. With national elections just weeks away, many platforms are stepping up efforts to combat potential election-related misinformation. However, X has not made any concrete announcements regarding its approach to Indian elections.
Community notes have proven helpful in fact-checking posts about X, but can struggle to control the spread of misinformation even as contributors add context to their stories. there was. The program may also face severe challenges in India's complex multilingual political landscape.
Last year, the company re-allowed political advertising on its platform, which had been banned by previous management.
Twitter/X has struggled in the Indian market, particularly in a legal battle with the government that ordered the platform to block certain posts. Earlier this year, X suspended some accounts and posts related to India's farmer protests due to orders from authorities. At the time, the company reiterated that a writ appeal challenging the injunction was still pending in court.
Last year, Musk said in a conversation with the BBC that India's social media rules are so strict that the company “cannot go beyond the country's laws.”