X’s Community Notes feature, designed for fact-checking and providing context to potentially misleading posts, is now being used to question advertisements from tech giants like Apple, Samsung, and Uber. According to The Wall Street Journal, these ads have faced criticism for containing allegedly false or deceptive statements. While Uber deleted an ad in response to a critical Community Note, Apple’s Community Note disappeared after receiving negative ratings from other users.
Community Notes offer users the option to rate notes based on their helpfulness and report them if necessary. In August, an Apple ad claiming the iPhone’s sustainability received a Community Note alleging that Apple deliberately slows down older phone models to boost sales. This note, referencing a 2020 lawsuit, later vanished after being labeled unhelpful by several volunteers.
In April, Samsung Mobile posted a message on X promoting the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera’s ability to capture moon photos. A Community Note explained that “Samsung phones digitally ‘fake’ images taken of the Moon to make them appear sharper,” citing an article from technology site The Verge as a source. Samsung responded by outlining the steps taken by Galaxy phones to enhance moon photos.
Similarly, Uber deleted an ad that claimed its drivers could “#earnlikeaboss” earlier this year. A Community Note referenced a study suggesting that the average Uber driver earns $11.77 per hour, leading to the ad’s removal.
According to Alex Mahadevan, director of the digital media literacy organization MediaWise, X has published over 21,200 Community Notes beneath posts and ads on its platform since the feature’s introduction. However, most proposed notes do not become public.
