Behind the Screen
Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media
by Sarah T. Roberts
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Pub Date Jun 25 2019 | Archive Date Jul 01 2019
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Description
Social media on the internet can be a nightmarish place. A primary shield against hateful language, violent videos, and online cruelty uploaded by users is not an algorithm. It is people. Mostly invisible by design, more than 100,000 commercial content moderators evaluate posts on mainstream social media platforms: enforcing internal policies, training artificial intelligence systems, and actively screening and removing offensive material—sometimes thousands of items per day.
Sarah T. Roberts, an award-winning social media scholar, offers the first extensive ethnographic study of the commercial content moderation industry. Based on interviews with workers from Silicon Valley to the Philippines, at boutique firms and at major social media companies, she contextualizes this hidden industry and examines the emotional toll it takes on its workers. This revealing investigation of the people “behind the screen” offers insights into not only the reality of our commercial internet but the future of globalized labor in the digital age.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“This book will define our thinking about the modern internet. Roberts has deftly dispelled the myth of freely flowing content in social media and brought critical attention to the work of digital laborers. Whatever you thought about how the internet works, prepare to rethink it all. A must read for anyone who uses and trusts the objectivity of the internet.”
—Safiya Umoja Noble, author of Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism?
“Sarah Roberts, one of the leading pioneers of scholarship in the digital age, opens a window onto the opaque world of content moderation. Behind the Screen is the definitive work on this key sector of the digital economy, its influence certain to shape policy and research in the years to come. Not only that – it’s a great read!”
—David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression
“Sarah Roberts will take you on an eye opening journey into the hidden world of the largely unsung and unappreciated people whose hard psychological labor plays a huge role in shaping the global public sphere. Behind the Screen is essential reading for anybody seeking to understand the private governance of online speech.”
—Rebecca MacKinnon, author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780300235883 |
| PRICE | $30.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 280 |
