Great Escape
The Perils of Being a Facebook Moderator
I didn’t ask for the job, but I didn’t quit it, either
I was at the grocery store when my phone started blowing up. I already knew what it was. Anytime I got more than a couple notifications in a row, I could almost guarantee it was a group chat of moderators overseeing a small, private Facebook group for sharing memes.
As I stood in the cereal aisle, scrolling through the discussion, I tried to skim the rehash of something big that had just happened in the group. Our friend and fellow moderator, whom I will call Gabby*, left the group after being antagonized by a man I’ll call Drew, one of the members. I tapped away from the moderators’ private group chat and checked out the offending post. Working my way backwards, I pieced together what had happened.
As is so often the case on the internet, the descent into mudslinging and drama had been quick. Someone had posted a pretty innocuous meme of various terrible musicians (Justin Bieber, Nickelback et al.) on an alignment chart. Someone else responded with a reaction GIF. Drew (who is black) called out the use of the Issa Joke GIF as an example of “digital blackface.” Gabby (who is also black) thought that was a little extreme and said as much. That’s when Drew called Gabby a particular C-word…
