The Five Keys Of Content Moderation

Content Moderation—the practice of screening, approving, or removing user-generated content based on pre-determined guidelines—is an essential component of the social media landscape. Over 4.74B people use social media platforms—including over 75% of the global population aged 13 and up—resulting in a worldwide daily average use of nearly 2.5 hours¹.  

And with so many people online, creating safe spaces to transact and interact is becoming more challenging than ever before.  

A Seismic Shift Meets a Clear and Present Danger 

The world is online, using social media to share opinions and argue talking points in numbers never seen before; in the U.S. alone, a staggering 84% of 18-29 year olds are active social media users, with numbers only falling slightly to 81% for 30-49 year olds². 

Unfortunately, explicit content, misleading information, deepfake videos, and conspiracy theories are skyrocketing alongside an explosion in platform use. Such material erodes trust and confidence in our country’s (and indeed the world’s) most critical institutions—and puts individuals, brands and even established traditions at risk.   

So, what do you do to counter a growing digital threat? 

You deploy a combination of leading-edge technology and human oversight—and you select a partner who understands how to get the job done.   

Five Keys to Consider 

Deploying successful content moderation is no small task—and it’s critical to get it right before bad actors can impact your brand reputation.  

Here are five factors to keep in mind when selecting a partner:   

1. Speed to Scale: Find a partner who can easily support your needs—especially when they’re urgently needed. Your ideal partner should be able to support rapid ramps worldwide, handle high volumes of published content, and have a legacy of ramping programs swiftly and successfully.  
2. Trust & Safety Expertise: Experience matters—especially with content moderation. And that takes a combination of top-tier talent plus safety protocols and regulatory know-how to keep both clients and frontline moderators secure; the best partners have both.  
3. Performance: A great partner has a proven track record plus a platform that harnesses automation technology, AI, and deep analytics to make easy work of moderating multi-media content.  
4. Talent & Training: Top-tier talent doesn’t just happen…a trust-worthy partner hires, trains, coaches, and fortifies their frontline content moderators, ensuring consistency and scalability in any region. A solid partner continually optimizes the capabilities of its workforce to consistently deliver through ongoing training, from expanding existing skillsets to keeping up with policy changes. 
5. Wellness: Best-practice based wellness policies are essential for content moderation success—partners should care for their people by offering global wellness and resiliency programs led by licensed mental health practitioners. Daily monitoring of employee wellness, mood, and satisfaction also helps ensure that your first line of defense is always up for the task. 

We’re In This Together 

While the world is more connected than ever, our interlocked societies struggle with bad actors who sully digital platforms with vitriol, manipulation, and lies. Major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have recently stepped-up activities to curtail the spread of misleading information, but free-speech arguments are quick to emerge—and the moderation landscape is evolving daily.   

Like it or not, social media has become the media—and though journalists possess credentials and routinely fact-check their work product, everyday citizens do not. So, it’s imperative that we prioritize moderation efforts and empower our people to safeguard online interests.   

At the end of the day, the content is here—and moderation is there to meet it.