Understanding and Mitigating Polarization in Community Notes: Factors and Strategies for Improved Consensus

Polarization in online discourse hinders constructive dialogue and exacerbates social division. Through analysis of over 40,000 Japanese Community Notes on X (formerly Twitter), this study empirically identifies factors that drive and mitigate polarization in collaborative fact-checking. We find that notes on tweets containing political content or high retweet counts, as well as notes that directly address claims, exhibit bias, or lack critical information, are more likely to contribute to polarization. Conversely, clarity and neutrality in notes are crucial for fostering mutual acceptance in highly polarized contexts. Particularly for politically charged or highly engaging tweets, the presentation of clear and fair information proves more significant in improving evaluations than source reliability. This research highlights the potential for strategic information presentation to mitigate polarization and foster constructive online dialogue.