PolitiFact corrected by X community notes on Kamala Harris's gun buyback proposal

The roles were reversed on the fact-checkers at PolitiFact when they were checked by X's Community Notes on its claim that Vice President Kamala Harris did not want to "confiscate guns broadly." 

However, PolitiFact acknowledged that Harris supported a "mandatory" assault weapons buyback in 2019, which the X community was quick to note that this would constitute a confiscation.

"In 2019, Kamala Harris spoke in favor of 'mandatory' programs to buy back assault weapons. As vice president, Harris has focused on other gun measures. She has not called for confiscating guns broadly," PolitiFact said in a post to X last Wednesday. 

The note links to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of "mandatory"--which means "required by law."

"Thus, a gun 'buyback' that is 'mandatory' requires handing over weapons to the government whether one wants to surrender the weapon or not. Hence, confiscation," the note concludes.

The Community Notes feature, which X owner Elon Musk implemented to allow users to add context to posts on the platform in an effort to fight misleading information, has led to several fact-checks of claims from politicians, government agencies, and media figures. Last year, for example, the X community fact-checked the Customs and Border Patrol Agency claim that it does not financially assist migrants. X users noted the agency provides financing to non-government organizations which provide these services.