Meta limits power of moderators and tests 'Community Notes' in 16 countries in Latin America

On Wednesday, Meta began testing its Community Notes system in 16 Latin American countries. The tool will allow registered users to provide context about posts they consider misleading or confusing on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

The trial represents a new step in the company's decision to gradually move away from the fact-checking model based on media outlets and specialized organizations. Meta has not set a date for completely replacing its fact-checkers in the region, but has indicated that the notes aim to become the standard mechanism for providing context on disputed content.

A user-driven system

According to AFP, during the initial phase, users in the participating countries will be able to sign up as contributors. However, the notes will not yet appear publicly, and the independent fact-checking program will continue to operate as usual while Meta evaluates the results of the experiment.

The model is inspired by the system used by X, the social network owned by Elon Musk. Contributors propose texts and provide sources; subsequently, other participants assess whether those contributions are useful. The publication of a note depends on there being sufficient consensus among users with different perspectives.

The countries included are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Brazil, Meta's largest Latin American market, is not part of this first phase.

The U.S. precedent

The change in Latin America follows the transformation undertaken by Meta in the United States. There, the company ended its collaboration program with professional fact-checkers and replaced it with Community Notes, a decision that Mark Zuckerberg presented as a return to a policy more favorable to free speech.

The company states that the U.S. system now has more than 1.4 million contributors, who have produced more than 50,000 notes on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. This figure is much higher than the one reported by Meta last year, when it cited approximately 70,000 participants and 15,000 notes.

AFP, which participates in Meta's fact-checking program, argues that the two models should not be viewed as mutually exclusive alternatives. The agency maintains that fact-checking posts work best when their authors can rely on rigorous research, verifiable journalism, and high-quality sources.