How to Write Facebook Community Notes

Contributing to Facebook's Community Notes program gives you a powerful way to add valuable context to posts and help build a more informed environment online. It's a fantastic initiative, but writing notes that are consistently rated Helpful requires more than just good intentions. This guide breaks down exactly how to write useful, neutral notes that are likely to be seen by others, covering everything from finding the right source to framing your claim effectively.

First, Understand the Goal: It’s About Context, Not Combat

Before you write a single word, it's essential to understand the core mission of Community Notes. The program is not a tool for winning arguments, owning your opponents, or calling people out. Its sole purpose is to collaboratively add context that is helpful to everyone, regardless of their viewpoint. Think of yourself as a neutral librarian adding a helpful footnote, not a debater scoring points.

The entire system is built on a principle called "bridging." For a Community Note to be published on a post, it must be rated as "Helpful" by a wide range of contributors - including those who have historically disagreed with each other on various topics. If your note only appeals to people who already share your perspective, it will fail. This unique algorithm forces you to be relentlessly objective, neutral, and fact-based. Success in Community Notes means finding common ground, and that common ground is verifiable reality.

The Anatomy of a Great Community Note

Every effective Community Note consists of two simple but critical components: a factual claim and a high-quality source to back it up. When submitting, you’ll also choose a category that best describes your note's purpose.

1. State a Clear, Factual Claim

This is the text that readers will see. Your goal is to be direct, helpful, and free of opinion or emotional language. In most cases, your note will fall into one of three main categories:

• Provides Additional Context: This is for posts that aren't necessarily false but are missing information that would help people better understand the situation.
  • Example Post: A video shows a crowd of protestors clashing with police.
  • Good Note: "This video was filmed in February 2022 during a protest about new tax legislation, according to reporting from [Reputable News Source]."
• Identifies Misleading/False Claim: This applies when a post asserts something that is factually incorrect. Politely and directly provide the correct information.
  • Example Post: A graphic claims a famous actor made a controversial political statement.
  • Good Note: "There is no record of this actor saying this. The quote has been attributed by fact-checkers to a satirical website."
• Clarifies Satire or Parody: Sometimes, jokes are mistaken for real news. These notes help prevent confusion.
  • Example Post: An article with a wild, unbelievable headline from what looks like a news site.
  • Good Note: "This is from a satirical publication. The 'About Us' page on their website states that their content is not factual."

2. Provide a High-Quality Source

Your claim is only as strong as its source. A high-quality source is one that is credible, authoritative, and as close to the original information as possible. Vague blog posts, other social media posts, or highly biased opinion pieces are not good sources.

What makes a great source?

• Primary Sources: Official company statements, public records, government websites (.gov), academic studies (.edu), or direct quotes from the person involved.
• Reputable News Reporting: Well-regarded news organizations with a history of journalistic standards and corrections policies (e.g., Reuters, Associated Press, BBC News).
• Independent Fact-Checking Organizations: Non-partisan fact-checkers that transparently show their work.

Always link directly to the specific article or page that supports your claim. Don't just link to the source's homepage and make people search for the information themselves.

Step-by-Step: How to Write Your First Community Note

Ready to try? Here's a repeatable process you can use every time you write a note.

Step 1: Identify a Post That Genuinely Needs Context

Look for posts where verifiable context is missing or misrepresented. Common examples include:

• Images or videos from one event being presented as if they're from another.
• Statistics used without context (e.g., numbers that seem large or small without a baseline for comparison).
• Quotes that have been edited, taken out of context, or misattributed.
• Claims about scientific studies or historic events that feel incomplete or one-sided.

Step 2: Ask Yourself: Is My Contribution Objectively Helpful?

Take a breath and ask if you're reacting to a subjective opinion or a factual claim. Community Notes shouldn't be used to correct things you simply disagree with. If a post says, "That new movie was terrible," that's an opinion and doesn't need a note. If it says, "That movie had a budget of $500 million," and you can prove it was actually $50 million, that's a factual correction and a perfect candidate for a note.

Likewise, avoid writing notes for minor grammatical errors, typos, or small details that don't change the central meaning of the post. Stick to what truly adds value.

Step 3: Write a Neutral, Fact-First Statement

This is where most writers struggle. It's tempting to inject your own voice or frustration into the note. Resist that urge. Use what’s often called "the language of a reference book" - just the facts.

Let's look at an example. Imagine a post shares an image of a beautiful beach covered in trash, with a caption that says, "Here's what our local beach looks like after this weekend's festival." You find a news article showing the photo is actually 10 years old and from a different country.

• Bad, Biased Note: "This post is disgusting lies. The user is trying to make our town look bad with a fake photo. The picture is from another country years ago."
• Good, Neutral Note: "The image in this post was taken in 2014 in Bali, Indonesia, following a religious festival, according to a photo essay by [Reputable News Agency]."

The good note simply states the verifiable facts and lets the reader draw their own conclusions. It doesn't attack the person who posted it or use emotionally charged words like "lies" or "fake." It will successfully appeal to a wider range of readers and is far more likely to get rated "Helpful."

Step 4: Find and Link to an Authoritative Source

Now, do the research. Use reverse image search tools (like Google Lens or TinEye) to find the origin of photos. Search for news articles or official reports related to the claim being made. The quality of your source matters tremendously. If you have a choice between citing a blog and citing the Associated Press, always choose the AP.

Make sure the link you provide directly and clearly supports your statement. The evidence should be obvious to anyone who clicks the link.

Step 5: Review and Refine Before Submitting

Read your note and source link out loud. Ask yourself:

• Is my statement 100% factual and supported by my source?
• Could anyone interpret my language as biased, sarcastic, or aggressive?
• Is this note easy to understand for someone who knows nothing about this topic?
• Does it add genuine clarity to the original post?

If you can answer yes to all of these, you're ready to submit.

The Golden Rules: Community Notes Do's and Don'ts

Keep these clear guidelines in mind for every note you write and review. They are the keys to writing context that works.

What to Do

• Stay Objective: Present facts without commentary or judgment.
• Cite Authoritative Sources: The best sources are primary (official reports, data) or from highly credible news outlets.
• Write with Clarity: Be concise and use simple language that anyone can understand.
• Address the Core Claim: Focus your note on the central point of the post, not minor tangents.
• Assume Good Faith: Write as if you’re trying to help someone who is simply misinformed, not as if you’re fighting someone who is intentionally deceiving.

What to Avoid

• Injecting Opinion: Never include your personal beliefs, political commentary, or how you feel about the post.
• Citing Bad Sources: Do not use other social media posts, fan wikis, or random blogs as evidence.
• Making Personal Attacks: Don't talk about the original poster. Address the content of the post only.
• Writing Vague Claims: A note that says "this is misleading" is not nearly as helpful as one that explains why it is misleading with facts.
• Overreaching Your Source: Never claim more than what your source explicitly states. Stick precisely to the information it provides.

Final Thoughts

Writing successful Facebook Community Notes comes down to one core skill: the ability to provide objective, well-sourced information in a neutral tone. By focusing on adding helpful context rather than winning debates, you contribute to a better-informed environment and increase the chances of your notes being seen by everyone.

While contributing context through Community Notes can improve the conversation around specific posts, building a brand that people trust starts with your own content being clear, consistent, and helpful from day one. To manage that effectively, having a streamlined workflow is essential. At Postbase, we built a simple, modern tool to help you plan your content calendar, schedule posts reliably across all your social platforms, and manage all your engagement in one inbox without the chaos.