Social media's content moderators (censorship)

backseatLover12backseatLover12 Posts: 2,312
edited October 2014 in A Moving Train
Eye-opening article on "The Laborers Who Keep Dick Pics and Beheadings Out of Your Facebook Feed".
We are being censored - by outsourced, under-paid jobs as well as well-paid U.S. jobs… and we're thankful for it. These workers get paid to view the violence, gore, and humanity-questioning content and erase it, so our social feeds don't post it for the sake of protection of humanity. It's a long article but very interesting.

http://www.wired.com/2014/10/content-moderation/

“If someone was uploading animal abuse, a lot of the time it was the person who did it. He was proud of that,” Rob says. “And seeing it from the eyes of someone who was proud to do the fucked-up thing, rather than news reporting on the fucked-up thing—it just hurts you so much harder, for some reason. It just gives you a much darker view of humanity.”
Post edited by backseatLover12 on

Comments

  • Wow. That last story was a little much. Some sick fucking people in the world.
  • Wow. No responses but one?
  • Wow. No responses but one?

    I couldn't imagine having that job. Let alone witnessing something like that first hand. It's the twitter effect. Maybe the article was too long.
  • I agree the length of the article can be a turn off.

    But it was mind blowing. Who knew that our feeds are protected thanks to those whose eyes are burned by gruesome and disgusting content. At the same time, I hate censorship, but this really makes you rethink things. Thanks for commenting, Whatyoutaughtme.
  • I agree the length of the article can be a turn off.

    But it was mind blowing. Who knew that our feeds are protected thanks to those whose eyes are burned by gruesome and disgusting content. At the same time, I hate censorship, but this really makes you rethink things. Thanks for commenting, Whatyoutaughtme.

    I can only imagine some of the stuff. I have seen some pretty questionable things sneak by them.
  • I am for one very appreciative for these people. I don't necessarily agree with censorship.. I believe we all have the right to say or think or say what we wish.. We also have the right to choose what we do or do not participate in, in any given circumstance. That having been said..

    Having had all the stupid crazy jobs I have, I have gotten to see many fucked up lines crossed recrossed and completely obliterated by human kind. As a CrimeScene recovery agent ( I cleaned up murder scenes, suicides, torture scenes etc, after the investigations arenas had all their evidence), I saw a torture chamber where a man had kept his wife holed up under ground, ( 10 feet underground!) and 22 miles out into the middle of a field.. There he gave her a coffee can to shit in, which he collected. Throughout the first 24 hours, he took a single blade razor, and made over one thousand tiny cuts all over her body.. He then rubbed her own shit into the wounds, and left her to die from the infection.. And that was one of the milder cases I saw!
    As an EMT I saw a 76 year old woman beaten to death with a steel handled cane by her own husband over a fifth of Bourbon!
    So having seen some pretty fucked up stuff, I am very grateful that there is someone out there that is keeping that stuff off of these easy access sites like FB etc. I can't even stomach how fucked up people can be.. ( probably why I don't like people), and I'm glad that the rest of the decent 'innocent' population doesn't have to know about a lot of these warped inclinations.
    Very interesting read for sure!
  • badbrainsbadbrains Posts: 10,255

    I am for one very appreciative for these people. I don't necessarily agree with censorship.. I believe we all have the right to say or think or say what we wish.. We also have the right to choose what we do or do not participate in, in any given circumstance. That having been said..

    Having had all the stupid crazy jobs I have, I have gotten to see many fucked up lines crossed recrossed and completely obliterated by human kind. As a CrimeScene recovery agent ( I cleaned up murder scenes, suicides, torture scenes etc, after the investigations arenas had all their evidence), I saw a torture chamber where a man had kept his wife holed up under ground, ( 10 feet underground!) and 22 miles out into the middle of a field.. There he gave her a coffee can to shit in, which he collected. Throughout the first 24 hours, he took a single blade razor, and made over one thousand tiny cuts all over her body.. He then rubbed her own shit into the wounds, and left her to die from the infection.. And that was one of the milder cases I saw!
    As an EMT I saw a 76 year old woman beaten to death with a steel handled cane by her own husband over a fifth of Bourbon!
    So having seen some pretty fucked up stuff, I am very grateful that there is someone out there that is keeping that stuff off of these easy access sites like FB etc. I can't even stomach how fucked up people can be.. ( probably why I don't like people), and I'm glad that the rest of the decent 'innocent' population doesn't have to know about a lot of these warped inclinations.
    Very interesting read for sure!

    Holyfuck that's crazy shit, no pun intended.
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    I wonder, is knowing/reading about these horrors any worse than seeing photos of them?
  • riotgrlriotgrl Posts: 1,895
    hedonist said:

    I wonder, is knowing/reading about these horrors any worse than seeing photos of them?

    I wondered the same thing after reading the article. I found it very disturbing just to read about the descriptions of some of the things they had witnessed. Ugh, humans sucks!
    Are we getting something out of this all-encompassing trip?

    Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...

    I AM MINE
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    That there is so much of this kind of work being done by a bunch of people moderating this stuff is indicative of the the depravity and widespread sickness that is a part of the human condition. My first reaction was that we are growing worse that way as a species but I wonder, are we really getting worse or are we just more aware- by way of lightening quick news and social media- of what has been a long standing trend among homo sapiens, especially since the advent of agriculture? Think back to the atrocities that occurred in Viet Nam. Read Flyboys by James Bradley or Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking to get a glimpse of some of the messed up things some people did during WWII or go further back to the days of slavery or all the way back to Caligula or Nero or Attila the Hun. A long history of twisted humans. I'm not in favor of censorship, but I also don't believe in giving these creeps any attention beyond banishment from society.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • WhatYouTaughtMeWhatYouTaughtMe Posts: 4,957
    edited October 2014
    I don't really see it as censorship. These sites all have terms of service you agree to by signing up. If the images violate the terms, they don't go up. I have zero problems with that.
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    Good points, Brian. I think it's the ever-growing availability of these types of stories (and accompanying images) vs prevalence.

    It's like birds dropping dead - been happening for ages but the fact that the information is so readily transmitted might make it appear as if it's occurring more frequently.

    (and to whispering hands - good god, woman! You must have a stomach of steel to have witnessed what you have)
  • hedonist said:

    I wonder, is knowing/reading about these horrors any worse than seeing photos of them?

    Have images ever scarred your mind? Because I can read about them and wince, and not forget for a while, but the sight of something horrific tends to stay with you… much longer.

    WhisperingHands, thanks for chiming in. I hope that you're not too scarred by what you've seen. It sounds completely and utterly awful just reading it!
  • backseatLover12backseatLover12 Posts: 2,312
    edited October 2014
    brianlux said:

    That there is so much of this kind of work being done by a bunch of people moderating this stuff is indicative of the the depravity and widespread sickness that is a part of the human condition. My first reaction was that we are growing worse that way as a species but I wonder, are we really getting worse or are we just more aware- by way of lightening quick news and social media- of what has been a long standing trend among homo sapiens, especially since the advent of agriculture? Think back to the atrocities that occurred in Viet Nam. Read Flyboys by James Bradley or Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking to get a glimpse of some of the messed up things some people did during WWII or go further back to the days of slavery or all the way back to Caligula or Nero or Attila the Hun. A long history of twisted humans. I'm not in favor of censorship, but I also don't believe in giving these creeps any attention beyond banishment from society.

    Deviance will always reside in society, it's up to us whether we see it or not, perhaps? And how abundant it is in the public eye?
    Post edited by backseatLover12 on
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524

    hedonist said:

    I wonder, is knowing/reading about these horrors any worse than seeing photos of them?

    Have images ever scarred your mind? Because I can read about them and wince, and not forget for a while, but the sight of something horrific tends to stay with you… much longer.

    WhisperingHands, thanks for chiming in. I hope that you're not too scarred by what you've seen. It sounds completely and utterly awful just reading it!
    Images, accounts / words, experiences - each have left their mark on me at some point and in some way.

    I hear you though - sight tends to stew longer and deeper.



  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042

    hedonist said:

    I wonder, is knowing/reading about these horrors any worse than seeing photos of them?

    Have images ever scarred your mind? Because I can read about them and wince, and not forget for a while, but the sight of something horrific tends to stay with you… much longer.

    WhisperingHands, thanks for chiming in. I hope that you're not too scarred by what you've seen. It sounds completely and utterly awful just reading it!
    Images definitely can scar the mind. I wonder whether or not people have become more jaded by the proliferation of violent images in our society? I remember when the first "Dirty Harry" movie came out people were a bit shocked by the graphic violence and now similar images show up on television and movies like "Natural Born Killers" makes "Magnum Force" look like a Disney production. On the other hand people used to go to public hangings and be-headings so, again, maybe it is just a part of human nature to be curious or even relish violence. Not my thing though. I'd rather watch whales breach or see 6 million cubic feet of water crash over Niagara Falls per minute.

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • I think the ultimately most horrific point of no return, is knowing that these types of depravities exist within our species, and then you either witness something of it, or see pictures, videos etc.. And it sticks.. These images and in my case smells and sounds, never go away.. They seem
    To haunt you in an odd way.. I can remember leaving a suicide scene, and the guy had shot himself in the head.. Which had been MY suicide plan 24 years ago, and cleaning up his brains from the wall and carpets, made me realize that could have been what my family saw!! And I couldn't stop praying for the family of that guy.. For like weeks.

    I think too, that somehow, knowing these images and incidents or those committing these horrific acts, are out there doing evil, that it inspires us to be sure in our deepest moral core, NOT to be this way; to stand against it. It's odd how some people are utterly disgusted by such things, and some are drawn to watch or look at the pictures. Remember those faces of death movies that sort of thing.. Anyhow, that's all I have right now.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042

    I think the ultimately most horrific point of no return, is knowing that these types of depravities exist within our species, and then you either witness something of it, or see pictures, videos etc.. And it sticks.. These images and in my case smells and sounds, never go away.. They seem
    To haunt you in an odd way.. I can remember leaving a suicide scene, and the guy had shot himself in the head.. Which had been MY suicide plan 24 years ago, and cleaning up his brains from the wall and carpets, made me realize that could have been what my family saw!! And I couldn't stop praying for the family of that guy.. For like weeks.

    I think too, that somehow, knowing these images and incidents or those committing these horrific acts, are out there doing evil, that it inspires us to be sure in our deepest moral core, NOT to be this way; to stand against it. It's odd how some people are utterly disgusted by such things, and some are drawn to watch or look at the pictures. Remember those faces of death movies that sort of thing.. Anyhow, that's all I have right now.

    OMG, whisperinghands, I will never complain about have to clean up cat puke again!

    I was thinking- most of us when we drive by a car accident have a hard time not being curious so many times we glance over as we pass by or (unfortunately) many times people slow down traffic and stare at the carnage. Few people do not at least glance at the scene. Why are we both so curious about and (generally speaking) equally repulsed by morbidity?

    The other thing I wonder about is- how do people who work at jobs such as the one you had, whispering, or forensics or in a morgue? How do you get used to that sort of thing? My wife tells a story about her treating a horses gross facial wound years ago and the thought of it kind of make me turn green (she always leaves in the gory details) but she cannot look at a person being injected by a needle- not even on TV or film. Interesting!

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













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