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Accepted Paper:
The hidden impact of crisis: ethnographic experiences of TikTok moderators
Jasmine Mohtashami
(SOAS)
Platform moderators are particularly exposed to the dissemination of fake news and conspiracy theories due to the amount of content they filter through. Using auto/ethnographic research, what lessons can be learned of mental health impacts in times of crises?
Paper long abstract:
TikTok has risen as a primary source of news and individual expression for many throughout the recent pandemic. The quest for views and integrity to truth often clashes, resulting in the moderating team making a decision. Using auto/ethnographic research of former TikTok moderators, tensions between conscience and tagging guidelines as well as struggling with tight productivity targets are explored.
Furthermore, how does extended exposure to problematic videos such as covid conspiracy content affect the moderator, and therefore in turn the consumer? A notable example is that due to prolonged exposure to covid conspiracy theories, this former moderator with no former anti-covid rhetoric was skeptical to receive a booster due to the unconscious bias the repeated watching of these videos elicited.
As short-form video content is here to stay, what lessons can be gathered when the app we watch watches us in return?
Please note that this paper will not address any TikTok-specific guidelines and represents the personal experiences of the researcher only.