Ethereum co-founder praises X’s Community Notes for echoing crypto principles

Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has lauded X’s new Community Notes feature, highlighting its alignment with core blockchain values despite its non-cryptocurrency origins.

In December 2022, the social media giant formerly known as Twitter, now X, launched Community Notes. Since then, it has steadily grown in prominence, establishing itself as a cornerstone tool for the platform.

Open-source in nature, Community Notes allows anyone to participate as a contributor. Though still recognized as being in its developmental pilot phase, the feature plays a central role in a burgeoning community dedicated to identifying and correcting misinformation on the microblogging platform.

Vitalik Buterin remarked on the striking parallels between the tool and some blockchain projects. He praised its decentralized essence, the emphasis on community engagement, and its transparent coding structure.

In a recent blog post, Buterin went on record to say that Community Notes serves as a “remarkably useful” tool, even when circumstances become fraught with contention.

Buterin’s intrigue with Community Notes stems from its potential as a manifestation of “crypto values,” despite not originating from the cryptocurrency realm. “It might be the most fitting embodiment of ‘crypto values’ we’ve encountered in the mainstream arena so far,” he expressed.

An interesting facet of Community Notes is its unique consensus-based operational procedure. Before a note gains approval and becomes visible to the audience, there has to be a mutual agreement among its contributors.

The platform mandates a consensus for note validation, a process thoroughly detailed on their official site.

Highlighting this consensus approach, Keith Coleman, X’s vice president of Product, showcased an excerpt from Buterin’s insights into crypto values. This acknowledgment garnered even more attention when CEO Elon Musk further shared Coleman’s post, casting a spotlight on Buterin’s thoughts to his vast array of followers.

Buterin accentuated the decentralized aspect of the notes. He clarified that these annotations, which either add context or challenge assertions made on X, don’t stem from a singular authority. “The process is democratic, allowing any individual to draft and vote. The final decision regarding the display of these notes rests with an open-source algorithm,” he detailed.

He also introduced the notion of “credible neutrality,” a term he coined in 2020, referring to a system that remains impartial and unbiased. In Community Notes, this neutrality represents its effort to remain unbiased and all-inclusive.

Buterin also acknowledged that while Community Notes bears resemblance to the values of decentralization, it doesn’t quite match up to the standards set by decentralized social media, saying, “for those who may find fault with its operation, alternative viewing isn’t an option. However, for extensive applications, it’s likely the closest we’ll see in the foreseeable future.”