Are we getting moderator well-being all wrong?
I'm Alice Hunsberger. Trust & Safety Insider is my weekly rundown on the topics, industry trends and workplace strategies that trust and safety professionals need to know about to do their job.
This week, I'm thinking about moderator wellness programmes, and what works (and doesn't). I already had this piece written and ready to go when a friend texted me asking for wellness guidance; it’s clear to me that we don’t have enough easily available resources so I hope today’s edition can inspire a broader conversation.
Get in touch if you have resources you can share or questions about today’s edition. Here we go! — Alice
In our latest publication, Resolver unpacks one of today’s most complex digital threats: The Challenges of Moderating Mis- and Disinformation Online: A Threat-Focused Perspective.
While some misinformation seems trivial, seemingly minor falsehoods can escalate, subtly radicalising audiences and undermining public trust. At a time when engagement often outweighs accuracy, we ask: is content removal enough?
This piece explores:
• How exposure to distorted narratives drives real-world harm
• The regulatory tensions under the Online Safety Act and DSA
• Why education, design, and intelligence are critical in the fight against disinformation
With insights drawn from Resolver’s threat intelligence team and real-world case analysis, we examine what a multi-pronged, society-wide approach to this challenge could look like.
What the research that says about wellbeing programmes
Last month, a study of 160 commercial content moderators tried to replicate prior research on moderator wellbeing. It confirmed what many T&S Insider readers likely already suspect: a third of moderators are struggling significantly with mental health, and current workplace wellness programs aren’t always helping.
While moderators who participated in wellness programmes did report lower secondary‑trauma symptoms (such as panic attacks, rumination, etc), there was no significant drop in overall distress or rise in wellbeing. Worse, moderators who doubt the confidentiality of those wellness services show higher distress, higher trauma, and lower wellbeing.
It's worth reading in full but there are three conclusions that I find really interesting: