Tech visionary Elon Musk has announced a significant policy shift on the X platform, introducing measures to combat misinformation and sensationalism, with a particular focus on crypto-related content. Under this new policy, posts that are corrected by the platform’s community-driven fact-checking feature, known as “Community Notes,” will no longer be eligible for revenue sharing. The objective is to prioritize accuracy over sensationalism, thereby fostering a more reliable information environment within the crypto community.
Elon Musk, serving as the executive chairman of X, delivered this policy update through an X platform post dated October 29. He emphasized that any misleading or inaccurate posts that are “corrected” by Community Notes, which are maintained by a crowd of fact-checkers, will be deemed ineligible for revenue sharing. This move is a proactive step to curtail the dissemination of false information and sensationalized content, particularly within the crypto space, where misinformation can have far-reaching consequences.
Musk’s decision to exclude posts corrected by Community Notes from revenue sharing aims to “maximize the incentive for accuracy over sensationalism.” In an era where misinformation can spread like wildfire on social media platforms, this strategy reflects a commitment to promoting truthful and reliable information within the crypto ecosystem and beyond.
Furthermore, Elon Musk stressed that attempts to “weaponize” the Community Notes feature would be quickly detected. This is due to the open-source nature of the data associated with Community Notes, making any manipulation or misuse easily discernible. The platform’s transparency in this regard serves as a deterrent against any efforts to exploit the system for personal gain or ulterior motives.
Community and crypto Responses to X’s new policy
In response to Musk’s announcement, members of the X platform community and the broader Crypto Twitter-sphere have expressed diverse opinions and raised questions about the implications of the new policy. One critical query pertains to whether the policy will also apply to notes that are added for context rather than strictly correcting false information. This distinction between corrections and context additions is a topic of ongoing discussion among platform users.
Bitcoin Archive, a prominent crypto-focused account, highlighted that some Community Notes provide valuable context and are not necessarily refutations or corrections. Meanwhile, Not Jerome Powell, a finance-focused X account, suggested that Community Notes associated with memes or those providing humorous context should potentially be exempt from the revenue-sharing restriction.
In contrast to those who have reservations, there is also support for the policy change. Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus encouraged users to pay attention to those who vehemently disagreed with the policy, suggesting that such opposition primarily emanates from individuals profiting from the spread of misinformation.
One area where X faces challenges is in providing transparency about the number of accounts eligible for monetization under this new policy. Additionally, the platform has not disclosed detailed information about the identities of its 100,000 contributors spanning 44 countries. The lack of clarity regarding user eligibility and monetization criteria has raised additional questions about the practical implementation of this policy and its potential impact on various types of content.
