A Mental Health Intervention for Data Workers

My name is Kauna Ibrahim Malgwi, and this proposal outlines a scalable mental health intervention designed for data workers; content moderators, annotators, and labelers, who confront the internet’s most challenging content. Drawing on my dual perspective, as a former content moderator and a registered clinical psychologist, I ground this proposal in both hands‑on insight and evidence‑based practice. Interviews I conducted with my fellow content moderators revealed chronic exposure to traumatic content, inadequate protective measures, and compensation far below industry standards, highlighting the urgent need for a coordinated, trauma-informed intervention.

This proposal highlights how data workers’ trauma, overlooked by algorithmic systems and amplified by corporate neglect, demands immediate, coordinated support from all stakeholders. Data workers are more than casualties; they keep our social media safe and accessible yet receive only cursory “resilience training” while executives pocket billions. This is not a plea for pity, but a call to action: I urge Meta and all platforms benefiting from data workers’ labor to invest in and implement comprehensive mental health support programs, ensuring these essential workers finally receive the care and protection they deserve.

It is my hope that, after reading this proposal, you will join me, either as a financial or institutional partner, in implementing this evidence-based intervention. Collaborating with industry stakeholders, mental health professionals, and data workers themselves will allow us to deliver the comprehensive care this workforce urgently needs, transforming content moderation from silent suffering into a sustainable, dignified profession. By doing so, we can fundamentally improve the lives of content moderators, who, at great cost to their mental health, toil to make your feed smarter, cleaner, and safer, and ensure they receive the support they deserve.