Medical report highlights psychological distress in former Facebook moderators

Facebook is coming under growing pressure about the long-term effects of viewing disturbing material on its content moderators

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, Facebook, testifies before a joint hearing of the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill in 2018 Picture: Getty

Lawyers for a group of Facebook moderators in Ireland, who are pursuing damages claims against the social media platform, have sent medical reports of two former employees detailing psychological disorder diagnoses to the company’s independent oversight board.

The newly established board operates independently and includes Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former Danish prime minister, Alan Rusbridger, the former Guardian editor-in-chief, and six constitutional lawyers among its 20 members. It was set up to make decisions on content ...