Firm regrets taking Facebook moderation work

NAIROBI : A firm which was contracted to moderate Facebook posts in East Africa has said with hindsight it should not have taken on the job.

Former Kenya-based employees of Sama – an outsourcing company – have said they were traumatised by exposure to graphic posts.

Some are now taking legal cases against the firm through the Kenyan courts.

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Chief executive Wendy Gonzalez said Sama would no longer take work involving moderating harmful content.

Some former employees have described being traumatised after viewing videos of beheadings, suicide and other graphic material at the moderation hub, which the firm ran from 2019.

Former moderator Daniel Motaung previously told the BBC the first graphic video he saw was “a live video of someone being beheaded”.

Mr Motaung is suing Sama and Facebook’s owner Meta. Meta says it requires all companies it works with to provide round-the-clock support. Sama says certified wellness counsellors were always on hand.

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