There's A LOT of discussion about content moderation right now and very little of it touches on the fact that we've all lived on the big social sites for the last decade-plus thanks to the massively exploitated labor of mostly-invisible moderation workers. The social web at scale wouldn't have happened without these laborers, who in addition to shit wages, have been exposed to literally every imaginable horror.
If we're remaking this world, let's do better on that front.
Finally, the very best coverage of this issue has been from @caseynewton at The Verge whose very haunting stories have stuck with me for years now.
They are worth reading and really thinking about what *waves hands in all directions* really means in terms of the actual human lives at the bottom of all this.
In a damning new report, Casey Newton gives an unprecedented look at the day-to-day lives of Facebook moderators in America. His interviews with twelve current and former employees of Cognizant in Arizona reveal a workplace perpetually teetering on the brink of chaos.
@dansinker @caseynewton That was disturbing... great articles.
There must be a better solution than more policing. But, I guess that's age-old: how does a society enforce its morality norms?
This platform, besides being distributed, by design seeks to remove profit motive. Does that help? It's not enough, certainly.
And is there a name for this social phenomenon of knowing what's behind the scenes? The old "you don't want to watch the sausage being made" situations?
Lots to think about.
Dan Sinker
Bill Rehm
Dannyboyguyman
Kempton