The human cost of keeping social media clean

While billions scroll through social media and engage with artificial intelligence tools daily, a hidden workforce in Kenya has paid a heavy psychological price to keep these platforms clean and train the algorithms that power them.

Sama Source, a company based in Kenya, has over the years been outsourced by tech giants like Meta to moderate online content.

As part of this investigation, The Standard has delved into court records filed before the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kiambu, sworn affidavits, internal emails, and confidentiality agreements that paint a disturbing picture of what 30 former workers allege happened behind closed doors at Meta's outsourced operations.

The scale of the psychological damage is worrying, with more than 140 former content moderators in Kenya diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) by Dr Ian Kanyanya, the head of mental health services at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

The mass diagnoses were presented as evidence in the lawsuit being brought against Meta and Sama Source Kenya.

At least 40 of the moderators in the case were misusing alcohol, drugs (including cannabis, cocaine, and amphetamines), and medications such as sleeping pills to cope with the trauma. Some reported marriage breakdowns, a collapse in their desire for sexual intimacy, and a loss of connection with their families.

Four of the moderators developed trypophobia, an aversion to or fear of repetitive patterns of small holes or bumps that can cause intense anxiety, after seeing holes on decomposing bodies while moderating Facebook content. Other reported symptoms included frequent breakdowns, vivid flashbacks, and paranoia.

According to medical reports submitted to the court, 81 per cent of those evaluated suffered from severe or extremely severe PTSD, with symptoms persisting for at least a year after they had left the job.

Dr Kanyanya concluded that the primary cause of these mental health conditions was their work as Facebook content moderators, as they “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, and horrific violent actions, to name a few.”

Faith Nafula Atsango, a counselling psychologist, warns that the trauma inflicted on content moderators is not a temporary condition but a deep psychological wound that can fundamentally alter a person's ability to function unless proper medical intervention is sought.

According to Atsango, repeated exposure to graphic violence and human degradation does not simply fade with time; it becomes embedded in the psyche, manifesting as intrusive memories, emotional dysregulation, and a persistent sense of being "broken" that can last a lifetime.

She explains that the human mind has a threshold for processing trauma; beyond that limit, the brain's natural coping mechanisms fail, leading to what clinicians call "secondary traumatic stress."

This condition, Atsango notes, mimics the symptoms of those who have directly experienced violence, leaving moderators trapped in a cycle of hypervigilance, avoidance, and emotional numbness that erodes their ability to form meaningful relationships or find joy in everyday life.

Many moderators, Atsango observes, struggle to explain their condition to family and friends due to confidentiality agreements, leaving them isolated with their pain.

The sense of shame and victimhood that arises from being exploited and then discarded with severe mental disorders creates what she describes as "a downward spiral from which recovery is nearly impossible without professional help."

Medical reports filed with the court paint a horrific picture of working life inside the Meta-contracted facility, where workers were fed a constant stream of images to check in a cold, warehouse-like space under bright lights, with their activity monitored to the minute.

The workers were initially expected to review or moderate content within 70 seconds, a timeline later reduced to 50 seconds. Within this timeframe, moderators were required to read, find violations, make decisions, and apply labels.

These metrics are measured through indicators like Average Handling Time (AHT) or No-Handling Time (NHT), pushing moderators to rush through their tasks and ultimately increasing the risk of errors. The work is so dehumanizing that one moderator, identified by the pseudonym Yaro, said: "I was no longer a person. Just a machine doing tasks every 50 seconds."

Due to micromanagement and confidentiality rules, supervisors maintained close scrutiny over workers' productivity, creating a stressful and often hostile working environment.

"Instances have been noted where supervisors or team leaders ask moderators to come to the office when applying for sick leave," one Kenyan moderator reported. Personal items like phones are prohibited in the workplace, and there is reportedly no transparent process for reporting labour law violations or workplace safety concerns.

The workers allege they were paid roughly Sh21,000 a month, a sum the company calls a “consolidated fee” but which workers deem insufficient for the psychological damage incurred.

Court documents show that moderators working in other countries are paid between Sh 2,322 ($18) and Sh 2,580 ($20) per hour, while those in Kenya get about Sh 283 ($2.20) per hour, eight times less than their counterparts in the US.

Each moderator received around Sh 50,000 in inpatient and outpatient medical cover, which workers argue is inadequate given the severity of the psychological risks.

Workers who dared to speak out about the grueling conditions or challenge management faced dismissal. The company enforced strict "gag orders" through non-disclosure agreements that prevented workers from speaking about their work, with the threat of legal action looming even after employment ended.

Moderators were typically prohibited from discussing their work with family or friends, creating social isolation that compounds their trauma. Many signed non-disclosure agreements that prevent them from seeking appropriate mental health care, since they cannot explain to therapists what is causing their symptoms.

Internal emails and documents show that Sama Source issued strict directives to employees, instructing them not to speak to journalists and to report any media inquiries immediately.

A communication sent to employees in the wake of a media story read: "If any member of the media reaches out to you regarding Sama Source or any client-related work, please do not comment or provide any information. Notify your manager immediately, copy press@sama.com, and forward the request without responding to the journalist or publication.

Sama Source did little to provide post-traumatic professional counselling to moderators in its Nairobi office, leaving them to seek solace in alternative ways, such as immersing themselves in religion.

In a disheartening turn of events, content moderators at Sama Source faced redundancy in April this year when more than 1,000 employees were sent home and left to fend for their mental health on their own.

Almost 190 moderators are seeking Sh 3.6 billion in a multi-pronged claim that includes allegations of intentional infliction of mental harm, unfair employment practices, human trafficking, modern slavery, and unlawful redundancy.

Atsango emphasises that the trauma experienced by content moderators is not a temporary affliction but a profound psychological injury that can permanently alter a person's mental landscape unless medical intervention is sought early.

She likens the cumulative effect of viewing thousands of graphic images to the psychological damage  sustained by combat veterans, except that moderators are expected to return to their desks the next day and continue the exposure, with no decompression time or adequate counselling.

“The human brain was not designed to process this volume of trauma. When you suppress your emotional responses day after day, the brain eventually forgets how to feel at all,” she argued.

She added, “This is why so many moderators report that their marriages have broken down, that they can no longer connect with their children, and that even the things they once loved no longer bring them pleasure.”

Despite repeated efforts, Sama Source did not respond to questions from The Standard concerning the allegations.