X (TWITTER) COMMUNITY NOTES AS A FACT-CHECKING TOOL DURING THE 2025 SUDAN HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

The 2025 Sudan humanitarian crisis represents one of the most severe displacement and protection emergencies globally, with over 14 million people displaced and 30.4 million requiring humanitarian assistance. Within this context, the information environment has become a critical battlefield, where misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda shape humanitarian outcomes, obstruct aid delivery, and endanger civilian lives. This study examines the effectiveness of X (Twitter) Community Notes as a crowdsourced fact-checking tool during the 2025 Sudan humanitarian crisis. Drawing on the Community Notes model's algorithmic "bridging" approach and analyzing its performance in non-Western, conflict-affected contexts, the research investigates how this tool functions within Sudan's complex information ecosystem characterized by connectivity blackouts, weaponized narratives, and fragmented media. Findings reveal significant structural limitations: the tool's algorithm assumes even global distribution of raters, creating information gaps between English-speaking and non-English-speaking populations; fewer than 40% of notes drafted in non-English languages meet visibility criteria; and the system's reliance on contributor density leaves coverage sparse in conflict-affected regions. The study contributes to understanding social media governance, crowdsourced fact-checking efficacy, and the role of digital platforms in humanitarian crises. It concludes that while Community Notes offers innovative potential, its current architecture cannot adequately address the scale and sophistication of information manipulation in complex humanitarian emergencies without significant modifications to accommodate linguistic diversity, local knowledge, and crisis-specific protocols.
Keywords: Community Notes, X (Twitter), fact-checking, Sudan crisis, misinformation, humanitarian communication, social media governance, disinformation