‘The work damaged me’: ex-Facebook moderators describe effect of horrific content

Former workers at Samasource say violent, graphic and sexually explicit videos left them fearful to go outside

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When James Irungu took on a new job for the tech outsourcing company Samasource, his manager provided scant details before his training began. But the role was highly sought after and would nearly double his pay to £250 a month. Plus it offered a path out of Kibera, the vast shantytown on the outskirts of Nairobi where he lived with his young family.

“I thought I was one of the lucky ones,” the 26-year-old, said. But then he found himself ploughing through heaps of violent and sexually explicit material, including grisly accidents, suicides, beheadings and child abuse.