Meta faces Ghana lawsuits over impact of extreme content on moderators

Meta and other large social media companies employ armies of content moderators, often based in the poorest parts of the world. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Meta is facing a second set of lawsuits in Africa over the psychological distress experienced by content moderators employed to take down disturbing social media content including depictions of murders, extreme violence and child sexual abuse.

Lawyers are gearing up for court action against a company contracted by Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, after meeting moderators at a facility in Ghana that is understood to employ about 150 people.