Meta has initiated testing of its Community Notes program across 16 Latin American nations, marking a significant expansion of its crowd-sourced fact-checking initiative more than a year after the feature launched in the United States. The rollout includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
According to a blog post originally published in Spanish, the company is currently onboarding contributors who, upon approval, will be permitted to add contextual notes to posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Meta emphasized that during this initial testing phase, these notes will not be visible to users and that its existing partnership with third-party fact-checking organizations remains unchanged.
However, the company also indicated that Community Notes may ultimately supersede traditional fact-checking arrangements in the region. “When we’re confident the product is working well and can be successful, we will look at fully launching – beginning to publish Community Notes and transitioning our third-party fact checking program,” Meta stated.
The announcement has triggered alarm among fact-checking organizations. The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which released a statement through Poynter, expressed that it was “deeply concerned” by Meta’s plans. The group argued that the community notes system is insufficient for mitigating the spread of harmful misinformation on its own.
The Oversight Board, which previously cautioned Meta about the risks of expanding Community Notes beyond U.S. borders, also voiced opposition. In a recent statement, the board urged Meta not to treat community notes as a direct substitute for professional fact-checking, stressing the need to utilize all available tools to address misinformation while protecting free expression.
Earlier this year, the Oversight Board issued a comprehensive policy advisory recommending that Community Notes and traditional fact-checking coexist rather than replace one another. The board had specifically warned against deploying the program in countries experiencing high polarization, prolonged conflict, or established disinformation networks—conditions present in several of the tested Latin American nations.
The IFCN highlighted that Meta is proceeding with testing in regions facing these exact challenges. For instance, Nicaragua has been criticized for abolishing elections and detaining political dissidents, while disinformation networks have been documented in El Salvador and Ecuador. Venezuela continues to face extended political instability.
When contacted regarding the backlash, a Meta spokesperson declined to address the criticism directly, reiterating that there are currently no changes to its third-party fact-checking program. The company points to the success of Community Notes in the United States, where it has garnered 1.4 million contributors.
Critics, however, question the efficacy of Meta’s approach compared to X’s similar feature. Research by the publication Indicator revealed that only 3 percent of Instagram posts debunked by the AFP’s U.S. bureau since April had also received a Community Note, suggesting the crowd-sourced model may overlook a substantial volume of content that professional fact-checkers deem worthy of correction.
Only 3 percent overlap with professional debunks is alarming. Community Notes clearly misses major stories.
Nicaragua and Venezuela aren’t ready for this. Who guards the guards when everyone’s biased?
Wait, so Meta is keeping current fact-checkers for now but plans to drop them later? That’s a bait and switch.
Replacing professionals with unpaid volunteers in polarized countries is dangerous. This feels like cost-cutting, not safety.