Flagging misinformation cuts social media engagement by nearly half.
Fact-checking reduces reposts by 46.1% and likes by 44.1%.
Why it matters
- Reducing misinformation spread is crucial for informed public discourse.
- Crowd-sourced fact-checking is an effective tool.
By the numbers
- Flagging misinformation reduces reposts by 46.1%, likes by 44.1%, replies by 21.9%, and views by 13.5%.
- Study focused on X's Community Notes feature.
The big picture
- Faster labeling is essential for effectiveness.
- Labels are more effective on content from non-followed accounts and altered media.
What they're saying
- Some users find the results encouraging, while others are skeptical about platform motives.
- Concerns about who decides what is misinformation.
Caveats
- The study does not cover all types of misinformation equally; effects vary by content type.
- Implementation depends on platform policies.
What’s next
- More platforms may adopt similar frameworks.
- Continued research on misinformation responses.