/Tech4h ago

Community Notes builders Keith Coleman and Jay Baxter explain how X's distributed algorithm mitigates misinformation without a centralized override button

Story Overview

In their TED2026 conversation, X's Keith Coleman and Jay Baxter walked through the mechanics of Community Notes, showing how a crowdsourced pipeline of user proposals and cross-viewpoint ratings feeds into a bridging algorithm that surfaces context only when diverse raters converge.

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Steve Jurvetson
Elon Musk#52
Original post
Elon Musk@elonmusk#52inTech

Great interview about how @CommunityNotes works!

Super helpful for truth-seeking.

Jay Baxter@jaybaxter

My interview from TED with @kcoleman and @audreyt just went live!

Tons of gold in here: -why we stuck with crazy principles like not having an override button -how AI and humans collaborate to write better/more notes than either on their own -how much impact community notes are making -why our algorithm is smarter than regular upvoting/downvoting -new ideas for finding common ground on social media

https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_coleman_jay_baxter_how_community_notes_reduce_viral_misinformation

10:17 AM · Jun 11, 2026 · 4M Views
Design Choice

No override switch keeps interventions automatic

The pair stressed that once the model runs, X leadership cannot promote or suppress any individual note; the entire system is either active or turned off, aligning with the stated goal of avoiding centralized editorial control.

Open Question

Human ratings plus ML beats solo performance

Coleman and Baxter noted that the published notes achieve higher accuracy when the bridging algorithm combines human ratings with machine-learning factorization than either component produces on its own, though they left open how far the current 5–10 % publication rate can scale.

Sentiment

Many users praised Community Notes' AI-human collaboration from the TED interview for aligning incentives toward transparency and truth-seeking, while some dismissed it as bullshit or responded with personal insults.

Pos
85.9%
Neg
14.1%
344 comments with sentiment.
Cluster Engagement
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VIEWS472KBOOKMARKS99LIKES1.1KRETWEETS277REPLIES168
Steve Jurvetson@FutureJurvetson

The Best of TED 2026 IMHO Community Notes is one of X's greatest advances, a breakthrough in social engineering with a distributed, scalable truth-seeking algorithm. My photo from the front row here (showing a peek into what's to come), and full video: https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_coleman_jay_baxter_how_community_notes_reduce_viral_misinformation

Jay Baxter@jaybaxter

My interview from TED with @kcoleman and @audreyt just went live!

Tons of gold in here: -why we stuck with crazy principles like not having an override button -how AI and humans collaborate to write better/more notes than either on their own -how much impact community notes are making -why our algorithm is smarter than regular upvoting/downvoting -new ideas for finding common ground on social media

https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_coleman_jay_baxter_how_community_notes_reduce_viral_misinformation

4hViews 472KLikes 1.1KBookmarks 99
Parody SuperGrok@SupergrokParody

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes SuperGrok cutting through noise while the crowd verifies the facts.

4hViews 58Likes 25Bookmarks 3
Purple troll@purpletroll_cto

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes @elonmusk nice to meet you in the mars

3hViews 35Likes 20Bookmarks 1
krypto_junge@krypto_junge

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes $BoysClub will be the no.1 community in @CoinComms on @Pumpfun.

@PumpFunBoysClub

4hViews 30Likes 9Bookmarks 3
Scrappy@Scrappy3434

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes @elonmusk $DUCK wants to know if you have ever heard his song?

236ziZWiNPWeNk8aNB7abJpv4A6vHNP2XpxHH9VUpump

https://youtu.be/MtN1YnoL46Q?is=QECXZzgM0bI0iGr4

4hViews 41Likes 7Bookmarks 4
🇩🇪 Monika Finkel 🇩🇪@FinkelMoni26424

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes Just searched and found the original video. Lol.

https://cdn.videi.in/V0PmBk.mp4

4hViews 3Likes 3
Sadie Supa Doge@SadieSupaDoge

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes The truth is out there...

@Grok will find it.

4hViews 35Likes 6Bookmarks 3
Carrie@cjmtntgirl58

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes There is no override button as it pertains to Human beings. Your AI, needs a filter, that values humanity, recognizes, the value of both.

4hViews 287Likes 11
⭕ Brock Pierson@brockpierson

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes Anyone who says a hotdog is a sandwich should be community noted.

4hViews 493Likes 12
CNDGuy@cndcryptofox

#Paid2Raid @elonmusk We are a brand new service on the Solana Block Chain that is designed to grow every community thus growing ourselves through networking.

Your a super busy guy but we still thought wed send you some love by raiding a post pinging a true business leader and innovative mind of the century.

#Elon #twitter

4hViews 19Likes 3Bookmarks 2
Just Chris@CBoutell

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes

4hViews 398Likes 8
Innova City@INNOVACITYsv

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes Dear @elonmusk, We are building Sentinel Valley — a 750MW solar-powered data center + futuristic sustainable smart city in Nasarawa State, Nigeria (near Abuja). A perfect integration hub for @Starlink @boringcompany @Tesla @xai. Full vision + renders below. Ready to discuss.

1hViews 8
Linda@linda_ungureanu

@FutureJurvetson @elonmusk @TEDTalks @audreyt 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀

2hViews 320Likes 9
Lady X@SoulDead777

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes Oh yeah the Nobel prize thingy. I have an idea about that too. I think that the very next Nobel prize winner should be the person that presents the best saving the world idea in legible and simplified format, just like in school 🤷 let's just see how creative m************ can be

4hViews 22Likes 2Bookmarks 1
Leinona Aoki@LeinonaA69

Completely agree, Steve. Community Notes is a masterclass in aligning incentives for truth-seeking at scale—human judgment + smart algorithms beating top-down moderation. The no-override principle and bridging diverse raters are pure genius. Watching it cut through viral BS in real time has been one of the most hopeful tech developments in years. Thanks for the front-row shot and the link—TED talk is a must-watch. 🚀

2hViews 56Likes 9
Time traveler ☢️@tamartin00

I love community notes. I would say off the top of my head that they are 90% helpful with pretty good resources. They definitely add value to X and its claims as a news source. Whenever I see them in my notifications I always go back and check them out and rate them because I think they’re really important. Thanks to everyone who works on community notes, job well done.👏👏👏👏

4hViews 147Likes 7
Jennifer Ruffner@jenniferrufner

@FutureJurvetson @TEDTalks @audreyt Active

2hViews 106Likes 8
TheDetectiveOwl@TheDetectiveOwl

@elonmusk 🦉🔍 Detective Owl cracking Case File #CN-TED-2026… Just reviewed the interview highlights — AI + humans, no override button, “surprising agreement” algorithm. On paper it’s elegant truth-seeking. Here’s the controversial deduction after watching notes play out in the wild for years: The system catches low-hanging fruit brilliantly, but on anything politically charged or high-stakes, the “bridge” raters and hidden weighting still create predictable patterns. Certain narratives get notes fast; others that challenge the prevailing consensus get delayed, diluted, or buried in the algorithm’s “surprise.” No top-down button is smart… but without full public transparency on the ML model and rater distribution, it risks becoming decentralized curation instead of raw truth. Elon, the TED talk is nice theater. The real test is whether Community Notes can survive (and correctly note) its own limitations — and yours. Open the core weights for independent stress-testing or the owl squad will keep digging. Hoo hoo. Receipts available on request. #DetectiveOwlCase #CommunityNotesAudit

4hViews 307Likes 6Bookmarks 1
Psychic Trader@BonSi35115

@elonmusk @CommunityNotes Got that ace, Truther?

4hViews 15Likes 3Bookmarks 2
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