It doesn’t matter if they were better or worse, it’s all relative. It depends on who you ask, everyone will give a different answer. You are looking at this from a technological and problem solving perspective, while the people who made the decision prioritized these much lower on their list. You need to think like a politician and consider the PR side of things. This is not about solving the problem, it’s about perception, only perception.
By implementing community notes, Facebook is shifting responsibility. Previously, the perception was that Facebook was doing fact checking (and no one really cared about the third parties). Now, the responsibility moves to the community. Not only does this shift responsibility, but it also makes Facebook appear politically neutral to Republicans, because they can say, "Hey, we did exactly what Musk did, and you liked it. We are politically neutral".
By implementing community notes, Facebook is shifting responsibility. Previously, the perception was that Facebook was doing fact checking (and no one really cared about the third parties). Now, the responsibility moves to the community. Not only does this shift responsibility, but it also makes Facebook appear politically neutral to Republicans, because they can say, "Hey, we did exactly what Musk did, and you liked it. We are politically neutral".