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Let's talk about moderators! Thread------>
This week on @united_podcast, we speak to an ex-Facebook moderator, who describes the reality of one of the grimmest jobs in “tech”.
WARNING: many of the details discussed throughout are distressing. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fXgjFPFJWnegX0fXYTvyr?si=AVpK_pTlT8a1vr3k1AHTnA
This week on @united_podcast, we speak to an ex-Facebook moderator, who describes the reality of one of the grimmest jobs in “tech”.
WARNING: many of the details discussed throughout are distressing. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fXgjFPFJWnegX0fXYTvyr?si=AVpK_pTlT8a1vr3k1AHTnA
Last month, it was reported that Facebook moderators in Dublin, contracted by CPL, are being forced to go into the office, including those with high-risk members in their households. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/23/facebook-moderators-forced-to-work-in-dublin-office-despite-high-tier-lockdown
Last week, @loreillysf raised the issue of the rights and conditions of workers moderating social media content, with Leo Varadkar in the Dáil.
You can read that discussion, here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2020-11-10/23/
You can read that discussion, here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2020-11-10/23/
In job descriptions, Accenture says “individuals will be exposed to potentially disturbing content, and will need a level of resilience and maturity” while also pitching the work to “recent graduates”. 
You can view some of the many job notices here: https://www.accenture.com/ie-en/careers/jobsearch?jk=%22content%20reviewer%22&sb=0
You can view some of the many job notices here: https://www.accenture.com/ie-en/careers/jobsearch?jk=%22content%20reviewer%22&sb=0
Earlier this year, the FT reported that Accenture required workers to sign a form acknowledging that the job could cause them post-traumatic stress disorder. Dystopian. https://www.ft.com/content/98aad2f0-3ec9-11ea-a01a-bae547046735
Facebook is facing multiple lawsuits, including in Ireland, RE: content moderation. Earlier this year Facebook agreed a settlement of $52 million compensating some current and former moderators for mental health issues developed on the job: https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/12/21255870/facebook-content-moderator-settlement-scola-ptsd-mental-health
When we talk about “tech jobs” in Dublin, we rarely talk about these jobs, where people on low pay deal with the dregs of the internet. Now some FB moderators in Dublin are jumping ship to TikTok, which is expanding it's operations rapidly in Ireland: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/12/tiktok-luring-facebook-content-moderators.html
Last week, @LeoVaradkar said he would meet with workers who work in social media content moderation. It will be interesting to see if this meeting takes place, what issues are raised, and what the Irish government does to address workers' conditions and rights in this sector.
In the @businessposthq last weekend, a story by @roisinmburke about how 30 content moderators are planning to launch legal action in the High Court. https://www.businesspost.ie/ireland/varadkar-to-press-facebook-on-working-conditions-for-its-content-moderators-bc4f33e5
Two weeks ago, @AarRogan reported on safety concerns workers have regarding their workplace, a Facebook moderation site in Sandyford. "One worker broke down in tears" at a 'town hall' meeting: https://www.businesspost.ie/companies/facebook-content-moderators-say-dublin-office-is-unsafe-7e74b7b9
More on Facebook moderators, @SiCarswell reports that 114 moderators working in Dublin have signed the letter released by @Foxglovelegal alleging Facebook is "risk[ing] our lives...to maintain Facebook’s profits during the pandemic.” https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-facebook-workers-seek-greater-covid-19-protections-1.4413648
Wrote about the working conditions and rights of Facebook moderators, and how Facebook tends to respond to questions or exposés of its endless dubious practices with the disposition and vocabulary of a child tasked with coming up with its own scolding. https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/una-mullally-facebook-s-attitude-to-content-moderators-is-grimly-revealing-1.4416135
More on Facebook moderators:
@roisinmburke reports on medical reports sent to Facebook's oversight board, including one former moderator who “was traumatised and psychologically damaged during the time she worked as a content moderator”. https://www.businesspost.ie/news-focus/medical-report-highlights-psychological-distress-in-former-facebook-moderators-99af1640
@roisinmburke reports on medical reports sent to Facebook's oversight board, including one former moderator who “was traumatised and psychologically damaged during the time she worked as a content moderator”. https://www.businesspost.ie/news-focus/medical-report-highlights-psychological-distress-in-former-facebook-moderators-99af1640
While Facebook moderators wade through incredibly disturbing "content" every day, here's an example of some "content" Facebook blocked:
Facebook banned ads from an Irish law firm asking content reviewers to come forward and take legal action. https://www.vice.com/en/article/akdgyk/facebook-has-banned-ads-aimed-at-getting-traumatized-moderators-to-sign-on-to-a-lawsuit
Facebook banned ads from an Irish law firm asking content reviewers to come forward and take legal action. https://www.vice.com/en/article/akdgyk/facebook-has-banned-ads-aimed-at-getting-traumatized-moderators-to-sign-on-to-a-lawsuit
Continuing their excellent reporting on Facebook moderators in Dublin, @AarRogan and @roisinmburke write about how moderators working for Accenture in Dublin are issued with a form requiring them to acknowledge the job can cause PTSD: https://www.businesspost.ie/legal/facebook-moderators-required-to-acknowledge-risk-of-ptsd-98ed8e30
You may have heard about these PTSD forms before.
Accenture issued them to YouTube moderators at their site in Austin.
@CaseyNewton wrote about that here: https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/24/21075830/youtube-moderators-ptsd-accenture-statement-lawsuits-mental-health
Accenture issued them to YouTube moderators at their site in Austin.
@CaseyNewton wrote about that here: https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/24/21075830/youtube-moderators-ptsd-accenture-statement-lawsuits-mental-health
“It’s not about mental health, it’s all about staff retention."
Here's another account from a Facebook moderator in Dublin, hired by CPL.
Story by @roisinmburke and @AarRogan https://www.businesspost.ie/sectors/moderators-work-in-conditions-without-proper-psychiatric-support-micromanaged-by-algorithms-75bd14e6?utm_campaign=article&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=web
Here's another account from a Facebook moderator in Dublin, hired by CPL.
Story by @roisinmburke and @AarRogan https://www.businesspost.ie/sectors/moderators-work-in-conditions-without-proper-psychiatric-support-micromanaged-by-algorithms-75bd14e6?utm_campaign=article&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=web
Prof Louis Brennan of Trinity Business School on why Facebook "needs to jettison its 20th-century mindset of prioritising the maximisation of profits at any cost" and grant content moderators employee status. https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/facebook-and-its-content-moderators-1.4422751
Interesting piece on proposed "harmful content" UK legislation. YouTube says online safety is its "top priority". Really?
10,000 "content moderators" working across Google sounds like a lot. It's not. 500+ hours of content uploaded to YT every minute. https://www.ft.com/content/e940f98c-40e1-406f-8751-1b4daa6a28af
10,000 "content moderators" working across Google sounds like a lot. It's not. 500+ hours of content uploaded to YT every minute. https://www.ft.com/content/e940f98c-40e1-406f-8751-1b4daa6a28af
