Facebook's content review team revealed: Firm hits back at criticism of its 'heroic' army of 7,500 workers paid to vet violent and troubling posts
Title : Facebook's content review team revealed: Firm hits back at criticism of its 'heroic' army of 7,500 workers paid to vet violent and troubling posts
Link : Facebook's content review team revealed: Firm hits back at criticism of its 'heroic' army of 7,500 workers paid to vet violent and troubling posts
Facebook has provided new details about the humans behind its complicated and oft-criticized content moderating system.
In a blog post, the social media giant described what kinds of people work on its content moderation team and how it trains reviewers to be able to follow Facebook's community standards consistently, while dispelling some rumors about the job.
The post comes as Facebook has faced backlash over how it polices content on its site, as well as the treatment of its human moderators.
Facebook described what kinds of people work on its content moderation team and how it trains reviewers to follow its community standards consistently, while dispelling some rumors
Facebook says it now has 7,500 content reviewers on hand around the world to parse through potentially objectionable content, a sharp increase from the 4,500 reviewers it had last May.
The firm acknowledged that it has to hire folks that are capable of coping with repeated exposure to 'violent or troubling imagery.'
Of those reviewers, some are full-time employees, while others are contractors or a part of companies that Facebook partners with.
This allows Facebook to have content reviewers across the globe, so that they can handle posts in their native language, without having to translate them.
Others posts, such as those that contain nudity, are routed to anyone in the world, as they don't pose a language barrier.
It also means that they have content reviewers available at all hours of the day, the firm added.
Facebook says it now has 7,500 content reviewers on hand around the world to parse through potentially objectionable content. Pictured are content reviewers in Essen, Germany
'Content review at this size has never been done before,' Ellen Silver, vice president of operations at Facebook, wrote in a blog post.
'After all, there has never been a platform where so many people communicate in so many different languages across so many different countries and cultures.
'We recognize the enormity of this challenge and the responsibility we have to get it right,' she added.
Content reviewers come from various backgrounds and range from veterans to former public sector workers, Facebook noted.
However, the firm stopped short of giving specific details about its reviewers for safety reasons, citing the shooting at YouTube's headquarters earlier this year.
In April, vlogger Nasim Aghdam showed up at YouTube's Mountain View, California campus and opened fire on several employees before killing herself. Aghdam blamed the company for 'ruining' her life and censoring her content.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) has also faced renewed scrutiny after he said in a recent interview that Holocaust denier content should not be removed from the site
WHAT ARE THE CRITICISMS ABOUT FACEBOOK'S CONTENT MODERATION SYSTEMS?
Facebook is facing renewed criticism about how it regulates content on its platform.
The tech giant has been secretive about the people behind its content moderation systems, noting that they also use artificial intelligence to review posts as they come in.
Earlier this month, Channel 4 conducted an undercover investigation of one of Facebook's major content moderation offices and found an array of disturbing material.
They found that Facebook pays its moderators as little as £18,000 a year to look at disturbing content on its site.
In another case, they found moderators treated pages from far-right groups differently than those from governments and news organizations.
Moderators were also instructed to ignore users who looked under the age of 13, while posts of children being beaten were left up on the site.
Facebook said it would update training material for its moderators, while assuring that the behaviors were not in line with its standards.
..Content reviewers are subject to real danger that makes us wary of sharing too many details about where these teams are located or the identities of the people who review,' Silver continued.
Facebook also explained that it trains reviewers continuously to make sure people are equipped with the right tools and to make sure they use consistent judgment.
On a day-to-day basis, reviewers are assigned a queue of posts to look over, some of which requires them to just scan the post, while others require may more context in order to make a decision.
The firm also addressed how its moderators are treated, saying they aren't given quotas, are provided with mental health resources and have full healthcare benefits.
'There’s a misconception that content reviewers work in dark basements, lit only by the glow of their computer screens,' Silver said.
'At least for Facebook, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Content review offices look a lot like other Facebook offices.'
On a daily basis, reviewers are assigned a queue of posts to look over, some of which requires them to just scan the post, while others require may more context in order to make a decision
Facebook admitted that, by penning the post, it was hoping to dispel some of the 'rumors' that exist about its content reviewers.
A Channel 4 investigation earlier this month found that Facebook pays its moderators as little as £18,000 a year to look at disturbing material on its site.
Undercover footage compiled by Channel 4 showed that moderators were instructed to leave footage of a child being beaten online, with a reviewer only marking the post as disturbing.
A Facebook spokesperson said the post should have been removed, while adding that content reviewers do 'very difficult work.'
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also faced renewed scrutiny after he said in a recent interview that Holocaust denier content should not be removed from the site.
It prompted experts to say that Facebook 'may be in over its head' when it comes to regulating content on its platform.
WHAT DO FACEBOOK'S GUIDELINES FOR CONTENT SAY?
Facebook's content review team revealed: Firm hits back at criticism of its 'heroic' army of 7,500 workers paid to vet violent and troubling posts
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Facebook's content review team revealed: Firm hits back at criticism of its 'heroic' army of 7,500 workers paid to vet violent and troubling posts
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