×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Wednesday
20
May 2026
weather symbol
Athens 24°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

Sex, drugs and pressure: The secret lives of Facebook moderators

A Verge article highlights the psychological pressures they face

Newsroom February 27 06:57

Δείτε περισσότερα άρθρα μας στα αποτελέσματα αναζήτησης

Add Protothema.gr on Google

The working conditions and experiences of low-paid Facebook moderators are a far cry from all the glitz and glamour one might expect for people employed at the social platform company giant in Silicon Valley.
In fact, according to a piece published by “The Verge”, titled “THE TRAUMA FLOOR –
The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America”, which interviewed people who worked as moderators of “hate speech” and other similar violations, their experiences were traumatic.
The panic attacks started after Chloe watched a man die.

She spent the past three and a half weeks in training, trying to harden herself against the daily onslaught of disturbing posts: the hate speech, the violent attacks, the graphic pornography. In a few more days, she will become a full-time Facebook content moderator, or what the company she works for, a professional services vendor named Cognizant, opaquely calls a “process executive.”
For this portion of her education, Chloe will have to moderate a Facebook post in front of her fellow trainees. When it’s her turn, she walks to the front of the room, where a monitor displays a video that has been posted to the world’s largest social network. None of the trainees have seen it before, Chloe included. She presses play.
The video depicts a man being murdered. Someone is stabbing him, dozens of times, while he screams and begs for his life. Chloe’s job is to tell the room whether this post should be removed. She knows that section 13 of the Facebook community standards prohibits videos that depict the murder of one or more people. When Chloe explains this to the class, she hears her voice shaking.
Returning to her seat, Chloe feels an overpowering urge to sob. Another trainee has gone up to review the next post, but Chloe cannot concentrate. She leaves the room, and begins to cry so hard that she has trouble breathing.
No one tries to comfort her. This is the job she was hired to do. And for the 1,000 people like Chloe moderating content for Facebook at the Phoenix site, and for 15,000 content reviewers around the world, today is just another day at the office.

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#facebook#traumatic#workers#working conditions
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Dendias: Ukraine owes a big apology for the drone, I am not among those who have believed the narrative of “calm waters”

May 20, 2026

“Life of Byron”opens at the Greek Center next week

May 20, 2026

Speech by Mitsotakis at the event on public transport in Athens

May 20, 2026

The real estate market: How much the boundless, ultra-luxurious blue of the Aegean and Ionian costs

May 20, 2026

4-day work: The country that increased its GDP by 4.1% without reducing wages and productive hours

May 20, 2026

Israel considers closing its consulate in Constantinople

May 20, 2026

Foreign Ministry Spokesman: The “Blue Homeland” is an unsubstantiated doctrine, the legal status in the Aegean is clear

May 20, 2026

Plevris: I am not optimistic that this summer we will have the reductions in migration flows we have in the Eastern Aegean

May 20, 2026
All News

> Greece

In reverence, the emotional deposition in Jerusalem, see photos & video

The Holy Temple of the Resurrection opened after many days due to the war between Israel and Iran

April 10, 2026

In the final stretch for the accreditation of joint master’s degrees: Aiming for their launch in the coming academic year

April 10, 2026

Schedule for Epitaph Procession today (10/4)

April 10, 2026

Perfect weather for Easter excursions, according to Tsatrafyllia’s forecast

April 10, 2026

Easter in Greece: The customs that continue in Greek tradition – From Nafpaktos to Corfu

April 10, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα