Violent TikTok images are traumatising Moroccan content moderators
Content moderators for TikTok in Morocco have spoken of the trauma they experienced reviewing graphic, obscene and violent imagery, with little or no psychological support provided.
Nine current and former content moderators told Insider about the "severe psychological distress" they experienced while reviewing content for TikTok's Middle East and North Africa division through the outsourcing firm Majorel.
Suicide, child abuse, animal abuse and snuff film imagery were all among the content the staff, paid less than $3 an hour, had to monitor for the social media platform, which is rapidly increasingly in popularity in the region.
According to the moderators, TikTok has taken advantage of Morocco's lax labour laws to pay low wages, provide fewer breaks than for their American counterparts and offer no counselling to deal with viewing the traumatic imagery.
A former Majorel adviser said an estimated 1,400 content moderators worked just on the firm's TikTok contract across the kingdom.
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One moderator said that just a few hours into their first shift they witnessed a man throwing a cat in the air and impaling it on a sword, an image that she said had affected her deeply.
"I love cats," she told Insider. "I'd never imagined I'd see such a scene in real life. It's not a movie. It's not a joke. It's real."
Another former content moderator, who now trains other moderators for Majorel, said the cumulative effect of watching disturbing imagery was often difficult to notice at first.
"The devil of this job is that you get sick slowly - without even noticing it," said "Wisam".
"You think it's not a big deal, but it does affect you."
Other contractors said they were set unattainable performance goals. One reviewer said that at one point she was expected to review 200 videos every hour while maintaining an accuracy score of 95 percent. By the end, she only had 10 seconds to review each video. Those who were unable to meet their goals were reprimanded and would forgo a $50 bonus.
A spokesperson for TikTok told the news site that the company partnered with outsourcing firms "to promote a caring environment for its employees and contractors".
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