American Idol has introduced a new way for viewers to vote for their favorite contestants but the system has caused extreme misunderstanding and frustration among fans.

The long-running singing competition series, currently airing its 24th season, recently added “social voting,” allowing fans to cast votes by commenting the name of their preferred contestant under that evening’s pinned voting post on the official American Idol accounts across Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

Social voting replaced the dedicated American Idol voting app, which was discontinued ahead of the new season. Viewers can still vote via text and online at the American Idol website, though social voting appears to be the preferred method, as it is often the first option presented to fans.

To participate in social voting, viewers are asked to “leave a comment below [the pinned voting post] that includes the properly spelled first name of who you’re voting for.” Each fan is limited to 10 votes per finalist and may submit only one name per comment. An explainer video shared on American Idol’s official Facebook page last month also noted that only comments are counted, not replies.

While it may seem straightforward enough, it has left numerous people confused.

“It gets a little messy,” longtime American Idol fan Alex Rockwell told Rolling Stone of social voting. “The rules weren’t clear, but at the same time, they were too specific.

“A simple typo or extra letter could make it so a vote doesn’t count, and I know people would have a hard time finding which post to vote on,” she explained.

Rockwell questioned the need to implement a new voting system. “At least when you text ‘21523’ and you text the number [of the contestant you’re voting for], you get a text back saying you voted,” she said. “With social, you are sending it out into the void. There could be people who think they’re voting, but they’re not actually doing it right.”

Others have echoed similar complaints on Reddit, including one person who shared a screenshot of a critical social media comment left on one of the voting posts. “Makiya sounds like she is yelling,” the comment — complete with the contestant’s name misspelled — read, to which the American Idol account replied, “This counts as a vote for Makiyah!”

“If this doesn’t prove what an absolute flop the social media voting is, idk what does,” the Reddit user argued. “90 percent of these people are not following the rules.”

Several people responded in the Reddit thread, calling the exchange “hilarious.”

“I laughed so hard at that,” one commented, with a second adding: “Especially that the bot spelled her name correctly.”

“THIS. METHOD. OF. VOTING. IS. A. S***. SHOW,” a third insisted, while a fourth agreed: “A complete mess why would they do this?”

The Independent has contacted ABC’s parent company, Disney, for comment.

Season 24 of American Idol saw the return of Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan to the judging panel. At the moment, five contestants remain: Hannah Harper, Jordan McCullough, Keyla Richardson, Braden Rumfelt and Chris Tungseth.

The winner will be crowned during the season finale airing May 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.