From Birdwatch to Community Notes, from Twitter to X: four years of community-based content moderation

Abstract: Community Notes (formerly known as Birdwatch) is the first large-scale crowdsourced content moderation initiative that was launched by X (formerly known as Twitter) in January 2021. As the Community Notes model gains momentum across other social media platforms, there is a growing need to assess its underlying dynamics and effectiveness. This Resource paper provides (a) a systematic review of the literature on Community Notes, and (b) a major curated dataset and accompanying source code to support future research on Community Notes. We parsed Notes and Ratings data from the first four years of the program and conducted language detection across all Notes. Focusing on English-language Notes, we extracted embedded URLs and identified discussion topics in each Note. Additionally, we constructed monthly interaction networks among the Contributors. Together with the literature review, these resources offer a robust foundation for advancing research on the Community Notes system.