META Sued After Over 140 Kenyan Facebook Moderators Report Severe PTSD
According to CNN, more than 140 Kenyan Meta content moderators have been diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
On December 4, the chief of mental health services at Kenyatta National Hospital diagnosed them and filed a criminal action against Meta.
According to the medic, 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.”
Tasked with preventing vulgar and gory information from entering the site, moderators are frequently required to watch such content and are frequently outsourced from underdeveloped countries by large internet companies.
🇰🇪🖥 Trauma on the Job: Over 140 Facebook moderators in Kenya diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and depression after exposure to graphic content.
— Live Updates (@LiveupdatesUS) December 19, 2024
💼 A lawsuit against Meta and Samasource Kenya alleges moderators were subjected to:
Harrowing material like murders, suicides, and… pic.twitter.com/QlDMTRvmjg
In this case, a local outsourcing company employed the Kenyan moderators, with some claiming they were not informed of the precise nuances of their task.
They have mentioned both the outsourcing business and Meta in a lawsuit, despite the fact that they have been told not to name the tech giant.
Out of the 144 out of 185 people involved in the litigation, 81% were found to have serious PTSD.
"More than 140 Kenya Facebook moderators diagnosed with severe PTSD". #ufcflm #sdg8 #GRI403 health & safety in tech jobs. #ufcfa5 FYI @aew1aew1https://t.co/xSJ0UcUTbC
— Ian Brooks (@sdg_brooks) December 18, 2024
According to CNN, different moderators reported various symptoms such as frequent breakdowns, intense flashbacks, and paranoia.
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Another person reported acquiring trypophobia (fear of seeing dotted patterns) after watching a disturbing film.
In 2022, a former Facebook moderator sued the outsourcing company, claiming unlawful termination, which sparked the class action lawsuit.
150+ African content moderators for ChatGPT, TikTok and Facebook voted to unionize.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 3, 2023
U.S.-based OpenAI paid Kenyan workers less than $2/hour — while many reportedly suffered from PTSD from moderating.
A South African worker is suing Meta for alleged union busting & forced labor. pic.twitter.com/BewcJowuPN
The initial complainant was sacked for organizing a peaceful demonstration against unjust working conditions at their Nairobi location.
As a result, all 260 moderators were fired go in 2023 for supporting the case, which also claimed unjust remuneration of $1.50 per hour.
META Sued After Over 140 Kenyan Facebook Moderators Report Severe PTSD
