Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Facebook moderator: ‘Every day was a nightmare’

Facebook moderator: ‘Every day was a nightmare’

A Facebook moderator has for the first time given evidence revealing the mental toll of the job, to a parliamentary committee.

The Irish parliament heard how moderators viewed graphic content up to eight hours a day.

Law firm Foxglove and the Communication Workers Union, representing moderators, called for better psychological support and freedom to speak out.

Facebook said it provides 24 hours support to staff.

Isabella Plunkett has worked as a Facebook content moderator for just over two years, and still works there.

Her job is to review posts on the platform - which can contain graphic violence, exploitation, extremism, abuse and suicide.

The 26-year-old says she could not speak to her friends or family about the things she saw at work due to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) which she had signed at the beginning of her contract.

Members of Ireland's Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, commended her bravery in speaking out.

Isabella Plunkett gives evidence at the Irish committee
Isabella also spoke to the BBC

“I'm here speaking out and I don't actually necessarily know in detail what I'm legally allowed to say and not to say,” she said.

“It was always clear we couldn't speak about our job, we couldn't speak about our job to friends, family... and it's definitely a workplace with a sense of secrecy.”

Facebook told the BBC that NDAs are standard practice and that reviewers can discuss any aspect of their job with doctors and counsellors.

Staff can discuss the general challenges and rewards of their jobs with family and loved ones, but not specific details of the content they are reviewing.

Mental health


“I’ve done the job for two years and I don’t think I could do it for much longer because of the strain it does cause to your mental health,” Isabella told the BBC.

“It's not like a normal job where you can go to work and go home and forget about it - the stuff you’re seeing is really ingrained in your mind.’”

Isabella processes around 100 "tickets" a day - these can be videos, images or text posts on the platform. She said they often contain graphic violence, suicide, exploitation and abuse.

She works for Covalen, one of Facebook’s largest contractors in Ireland.

Isabella claims she was not allowed to work from home, unlike her counterparts who were employed directly by Facebook who did the same job.

As a result, she says she is exposed to more graphic content, because she is in the office.

'A nightmare'


“The high priority queues - the graphic violence, the child stuff, the exploitation and the suicides, people working from home don’t get that - the burden is put on us.”

Despite having family shielding at home, she was told to come into the office and developed anxiety, for which she now takes antidepressants.

“Every day was a nightmare,” she said, adding that the support given was “insufficient.”

Facebook says psychological help is available to all its moderators 24 hours a day, but Isabella claims its wellness coaches are not qualified psychiatrists.

“I was seeing the wellness team but didn’t feel I got the support I needed. I can’t say I left work feeling relieved or knowing I could go home and have a good night's sleep - that’s not possible,” she added.

“It would follow me home. I could just be watching TV at home and think back to one of the horrible, really graphic tickets.”

Sub-contracted staff are given 1.5 hours of "wellness" time a week, she says, which can be used for speaking to a wellness coach, going for walks or taking time out when feeling overwhelmed.

“It’s not enough. I’m now seeing the content I view in work in my dreams. I remember it, I experience it again and it is horrible.

“You never know what is going to come next and you have to watch it the full way through because they might have violators.”

PTSD disclaimer


Some Facebook moderators are asked to sign a disclaimer before starting work, accepting that the content seen in their jobs could lead to poor mental health and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

An example of the contract, read out in the committee said: “I understand that exposure to this content may give me post traumatic stress disorder.

"I will engage in a mandatory wellness coaching session but I understand that those are not conditions and may not be sufficient to prevent my contracting PTSD.”

A Facebook spokeswoman said: "Everyone who reviews content for Facebook goes through an in-depth training programme on Facebook's Community Standards and has access to psychological support to ensure their wellbeing.

“We are committed to working with our partners to provide support for our content reviewers as we recognise that reviewing certain types of content can sometimes be hard," she added.

"In Ireland, this includes 24/7 on-site support with trained practitioners, an on-call service, and access to private healthcare from the first day of employment.

"We are also employing technical solutions to limit their exposure to potentially graphic material as much as possible. This is an important issue, and we are committed to getting this right.”

Technical solutions


Facebook uses a combination of machine learning algorithms and human moderators to review content.

In future, it hopes to reduce the number of human moderators through machine learning.

But Isabella said this was a Facebook "fantasy", that systems were “not even near that stage”.

Speaking to the committee, Isabella said “people are intimidated” by the NDA process and afraid of losing their jobs.

She cited an internal communications platform on Facebook, in which workers' posts were deleted when speaking up. Facebook denied these claims and said no disciplinary action is taken for employees raising concerns.

“People complained about the treatment and what was going on and how they felt unsafe,” Isabella told the committee. “It was clear that it was being censored because people's comments were being deleted, accounts were being disabled."

She said her experience drove her to give evidence: “I just had such a feeling that I needed to do it,” she added in her testimony. “I need to speak for the people that are too afraid, that feel they have too many responsibilities, and they can't afford to take any risks."


Meet people who review Facebook's reported content


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×