Meta’s Content Moderators In Kenya Suffering From “severe” PTSD

Meta’s content moderators in kenya raise concerns over inhuman working conditions

Kenyan content moderators working for Facebook have expressed concerns over potentially long-life illnesses associated with their job after many of them were diagnosed with PTSD.

The moderators who work for Samasource Kenya, contracted by Meta, Facebook’s parent company, have filed complaints accusing the two companies of inflicting in them severe PTSD caused by exposure to graphic social media content.

The diagnoses were made in Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital by Dr. Ian Kanyanya. According to a report by Dr. Ian, 144 out of the 185 moderators who underwent the voluntary psychological assessment were found to be suffering from PTSD.

Through legal firm Nzili and Sumbi Associates, the moderators have already filed the medical findings with a Nairobi court.

Social media moderators help the tech companies by weeding out disturbing content from their platforms. The role is usually contracted to third party companies especially in developing countries.

Meta Declined to Comment

Meta has so far not issued a statement responding to the medical reports citing the ongoing litigations.

The Menlo Park based tech giant however acknowledged that they take seriously the job done by moderators and that the contract it signed with the third party firms addresses issues like pay, training and counseling.

Furthermore the company’s spokesperson added that the moderators can always customize the “content review tool,” so that the graphic content appears blurred which is less likely to affect them.

Samasource didn’t also issue a statement to address the reports.

According to Dr. Kanyanya, his analysis revealed that the moderators encountered “extremely graphic content on a daily basis which included videos of gruesome murders, self-harm, suicides, attempted suicides, sexual violence, explicit sexual content, child physical and sexual abuse, horrific violent actions just to name a few.”

Constant Cries By Kenyan Moderators

Kenyan content moderators have had issues with their employer dating back to 2022 when an employee filed a complaint that he had been unlawfully fired by Samasource for inciting workers to go on strike.

In 2023, all moderators working for Samasource were allegedly ‘punished’ for expressing their concerns about their working conditions and pay – Foxglove, a Uk based non-profit company reports.

Furthermore, Martha Dark, one of Foxglove’s directors said that “moderating Facebook is dangerous, even deadly, work that inflicts lifelong PTSD on almost everyone who moderates it.”

For the longest time, activists have voiced concern on the effect this type of role has on the moderators, especially those working for bigger platforms like Facebook.