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Ghana moderators sue Meta over harm from reviewing extreme content

Mark Zuckerberg, at the Meta Connect conference, September 25, 2024, in Menlo Park, California   -  
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AP Photo/ Godofredo A. Vásquez

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The case was brought against the tech giant by content moderators who say that they suffered psychological distress from reviewing and taking down disturbing social media content.

They work for Majorel, an Accra-based company contracted by Meta to screen content deemed to breach community standards.

The workers say that they have suffered from depression, anxiety, insomnia and substance abuse as a direct consequence of their work.

They said that mental health support given by their employer was insufficient and that their pleas for help were ignored.

Teleperformamnce, the company that owns Majorel disputed the claims, according to The Guardian.

It comes after more than 100 Facebook content moderators in Kenya were diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder caused by exposure to graphic social media content.

Social media giants employ moderators to take down content deemed offensive or harmful, and to train automated systems to do the same.