X now requires a linked source for proposed Community Notes, as researchers say misinformation on X has reached new heights during the Israel-Hamas war
Researchers have said that misinformation has reached new heights amid the Israel-Hamas war. — X is making a significant change …
EngadgetKarissa Bell
Context & Ripple Effects
The source-link requirement arrived as Community Notes volunteers were already strained by the volume of war-related claims; related coverage found that only a limited number of notes were displayed in the conflict's opening days, highlighting the gap between proposed corrections and visible ones. Notes struggled to keep pace with volunteers' workload
People proposing a Community Note must now attach evidence, raising the minimum standard for submissions and giving raters a concrete basis to assess them.
The change adds friction for contributors but may reduce unsupported or purely argumentative note proposals during a high-volume news event.
Second-order effects
The bottleneck can shift from drafting notes to evaluating source quality and reaching rater consensus, especially when claims spread faster than the review process.
High-reach accounts that benefit from fast engagement face more visible sourcing-based challenges, but the requirement alone does not resolve the documented delays in displaying notes. Notes often took hours to appear
Third-order effects
The episode points toward crowdsourced moderation becoming more dependent on evidence standards and review operations, rather than relying solely on contributor participation.
If conflict-driven misinformation remains concentrated among high-reach verified accounts, platforms may need to align distribution and verification incentives with the capacity of their corrective systems; this change is a limited step, not proof that such alignment has occurred.
The trend: Platforms are tightening evidence requirements for crowd-sourced fact-checking as fast-moving crises expose the limits of volunteer-led moderation at scale.
Given there's no source link vetting, what's stopping Community Notes users from just adding an X link? [embedded post]
@communitynotes
@communitynotes on x
Notes that cite sources have a much higher likelihood of earning a ‘Helpful’ status. This is not surprising, as sources make notes more easily verifiable by viewers and raters. Starting today, sources are now required for proposed notes. We haven't previously required this, as...…
@freddieraynolds
@freddieraynolds on x
If your Tweet includes a link the @X algo will hide it but if your community note includes a link that's a good thing because without the link you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. The irony.
@functi0nzer0
Laurence on x
So many Zoomers are going to get introduced to Goatse and Tubgirl because of this decision I, for one, am in favour
@kcoleman
Keith Coleman on x
@KarmaTooling @CommunityNotes That was our original approach. It puts more effort on viewers and raters, though. We'll listen to contributor feedback & observe effects of this, but expect it to help make better use of contributor effort & ultimately result in more helpful notes.
@_jaybaxter_
Jay Baxter on x
Whether a note contains a source is one of the biggest correlates of whether the note will be rated helpful or not- and now they're required! We previously didn't require sources, since occasionally there are situations where there really is no viable external source. Rather...
@westcoastbill
Bill Lee on x
fascinating to watch @CommunityNotes evolve in real time. if @communitynotes can one day provide insight/facts into things like today's hospital bombing in gaza, it will be a game changer for how ppl consume authentic news.
@bobwyman@mastodon.social
Bob Wyman on mastodon
Hamas has taken over the social media accounts of at least some of their Israeli hostages... While one might wonder what could be done to prevent this sort of thing, I believe anything that relied on an individual doing something to protect themselves is likely to get them in tr…
@eff
@eff on x
In the wake of Hamas' deadly attack on southern Israel last weekend—and Israel's ongoing retributive military attack and siege on Gaza—misinformation has been thriving on social media platforms https://www.eff.org/...
@theashrb
Ash on x
Twitter is REALLY trying to force pro-Israel content on my FYP despite the fact that my following and followers are overwhelmingly pro-Palestine.
@ggooooddddoogg
@ggooooddddoogg on x
it looks like the state of israel has done a big ad buy on twitter which is really not a move you want to make if you're looking to build international credibility
@denimstv
@denimstv on x
Genuinely in awe that Israel is airing this ad on youtube videos [video]
@rrrrnessa
@rrrrnessa on x
It's utterly weird that Israel is literally running ads with horrific photos of babies all throughout twitter and other media too. That's not a thing any other govt has ever done...Nobody else think its weird? [image]