GITNUXREPORT 2026

Moderator Statistics

The global workforce of content moderators faces intense pressure, growing in size while facing serious mental and physical health challenges.

Sarah Mitchell

Senior Researcher specializing in consumer behavior and market trends.

First published: Feb 13, 2026

Our Commitment to Accuracy

Rigorous fact-checking · Reputable sources · Regular updatesLearn more

Statistic 1

Average moderator salary is $30,000 annually worldwide

Statistic 2

US content moderators earn $45,000 on average per Glassdoor 2023

Statistic 3

In Philippines, moderators paid $500/month average

Statistic 4

Indian BPO moderators earn INR 20,000/month ($240)

Statistic 5

Kenyan Facebook moderators make $2/hour

Statistic 6

Overtime pay for moderators often absent, 40% report no extra

Statistic 7

Bonuses for high-volume reviewers up to 20% salary

Statistic 8

Health insurance covers only 30% of contract moderators

Statistic 9

Paid leave averages 10 days/year for full-time mods

Statistic 10

Shift differentials add 10-15% to night shifts

Statistic 11

Performance bonuses tied to quota hits average $1,000/year

Statistic 12

Unionized moderators earn 25% more, rare at 5% union rate

Statistic 13

Entry-level pay starts at $12/hour in US

Statistic 14

Senior moderators make $60,000+ with 5 years exp

Statistic 15

Remote moderators earn 10% less than on-site

Statistic 16

Gender pay gap shows women earn 8% less in moderation

Statistic 17

50% of moderators report below-living-wage pay

Statistic 18

Annual raises average 3%, below inflation

Statistic 19

Stock options rare, <5% of moderators receive

Statistic 20

Meal allowances provided to 40% of shift workers

Statistic 21

Pension plans cover 20% of full-time moderators

Statistic 22

Commission for accurate flags up to $0.10 per item

Statistic 23

Global moderation cost $10B in 2022

Statistic 24

Meta spent $5B on safety including moderation in 2022

Statistic 25

Outsourcing saves 60% vs in-house staffing

Statistic 26

Revenue loss from unmoderated content $50B/year

Statistic 27

ROI on moderation tools 5:1 per dollar spent

Statistic 28

Fines for poor moderation exceed $1B since 2018

Statistic 29

Ad revenue tied to safety scores impacts 20% earnings

Statistic 30

Labor costs 70% of total moderation budget

Statistic 31

AI investment projected $20B by 2025

Statistic 32

Platform fines average $100M per violation case

Statistic 33

Insurance premiums for mod trauma up 40%

Statistic 34

Productivity loss from turnover $2B industry-wide

Statistic 35

Volunteer mod value equivalent $5B free labor

Statistic 36

Market growth 15% CAGR to 2030

Statistic 37

BPO firms revenue $15B from moderation 2023

Statistic 38

Legal settlements for mod injuries $50M+

Statistic 39

Tax incentives reduce costs 10% in key hubs

Statistic 40

Brand value drop 5-10% per scandal

Statistic 41

Crowdsourcing cuts costs 50% vs full-time

Statistic 42

65% of moderators experience burnout symptoms

Statistic 43

PTSD rates among moderators reach 15-20%, per 2021 study

Statistic 44

70% report anxiety from graphic content exposure

Statistic 45

Depression symptoms in 40% of long-term moderators

Statistic 46

Sleep disorders affect 55% due to shift work

Statistic 47

Substance abuse higher by 25% vs general population

Statistic 48

Suicide ideation reported by 12% of moderators

Statistic 49

80% experience moral injury from decisions

Statistic 50

Eye strain and RSI in 60% from screen time

Statistic 51

Therapy access provided to only 25% of workforce

Statistic 52

45% take stress leave annually

Statistic 53

Cardiovascular risks up 30% from sedentary work

Statistic 54

35% report panic attacks on job

Statistic 55

Long COVID exacerbates issues in 20% post-2020

Statistic 56

Gender differences: women 10% higher anxiety rates

Statistic 57

Veteran moderators show 50% resilience drop after 2 years

Statistic 58

Mindfulness programs reduce symptoms by 25%

Statistic 59

90% exposed to CSAM weekly, highest trauma source

Statistic 60

Homicide/violence content causes 65% nightmares

Statistic 61

Average tenure 9 months due to health toll

Statistic 62

75% turnover linked to mental health

Statistic 63

AI assists 40% of moderation decisions in 2023

Statistic 64

Human review needed for 20% of AI-flagged content

Statistic 65

Moderation accuracy with AI-human hybrid at 95%

Statistic 66

Tools like Perspective API used by 10 platforms

Statistic 67

Daily volume: 5M posts moderated on Facebook

Statistic 68

Queue times average 30 seconds per item with tools

Statistic 69

OCR tech flags 70% hate speech images

Statistic 70

NLP models detect 85% toxicity automatically

Statistic 71

50% reduction in human hours via AI since 2020

Statistic 72

Custom classifiers per platform: 100+ models

Statistic 73

Blockchain for appeals in 5% of cases

Statistic 74

VR training simulates 80% real scenarios

Statistic 75

API integrations speed up by 40%

Statistic 76

Multilingual AI covers 50 languages effectively

Statistic 77

False positives reduced to 5% with ML feedback loops

Statistic 78

Edge computing cuts latency to 100ms

Statistic 79

30% of tools are open-source like Detoxify

Statistic 80

Biometric stress monitors in 10% workplaces

Statistic 81

Gamification boosts quota by 25%

Statistic 82

AR glasses for dual-screen review in trials

Statistic 83

Quantum computing pilots for pattern detection

Statistic 84

95% of violations actioned proactively by AI

Statistic 85

In 2022, there were approximately 100,000 content moderators employed globally across major platforms

Statistic 86

Facebook reported employing 15,000 moderators in 2018

Statistic 87

By 2023, TikTok had over 40,000 moderators worldwide

Statistic 88

YouTube's moderator workforce grew by 50% from 2020 to 2022

Statistic 89

Reddit employed 200 full-time moderators in 2021, supplemented by volunteers

Statistic 90

Twitter (now X) had 7,500 moderators before layoffs in 2022

Statistic 91

Meta's moderator headcount reached 20,000 by end of 2022

Statistic 92

Instagram relied on 10,000 moderators in 2021 for image moderation

Statistic 93

Discord had 1,200 trust and safety staff in 2023

Statistic 94

Snapchat's moderation team expanded to 5,000 contractors in 2022

Statistic 95

Global content moderation industry employed 500,000 workers in 2023 estimates

Statistic 96

Accenture provided 30% of Facebook's moderators via outsourcing in 2019

Statistic 97

Cognizant handled 15,000 moderators for social media clients in 2021

Statistic 98

Teleperformance employed 20,000 moderators across platforms in 2022

Statistic 99

India's BPO sector provided 100,000 moderation jobs in 2023

Statistic 100

Philippines hosted 50,000 content moderators in 2022

Statistic 101

Kenya's moderation workforce grew to 10,000 by 2021

Statistic 102

60% of moderators are outsourced to third-party firms, per 2023 study

Statistic 103

Average moderator team size per platform is 5,000-20,000

Statistic 104

Volunteer moderators on Reddit number over 200,000

Statistic 105

Twitch had 1,000 paid moderators in 2022

Statistic 106

LinkedIn employed 500 moderators for professional content in 2023

Statistic 107

Pinterest's moderation staff hit 2,000 in 2021

Statistic 108

OnlyFans had 300 moderators managing adult content in 2022

Statistic 109

Gaming platforms like Roblox employ 4,000 moderators

Statistic 110

E-commerce sites like Amazon have 10,000 review moderators

Statistic 111

Forum software like Discourse supports 1 million volunteer mods

Statistic 112

70% of moderators are in developing countries

Statistic 113

US-based moderators number around 20,000 total

Statistic 114

Europe hosts 15% of global moderation workforce

1/114

Sources

Trusted by 500+ publications

+497

Behind the screens we scroll, an unseen army of over 500,000 content moderators stands guard, a massive and often suffering workforce whose hidden scale and personal toll reveal the dark foundation of our digital world.

Key Takeaways

In 2022, there were approximately 100,000 content moderators employed globally across major platforms
Facebook reported employing 15,000 moderators in 2018
By 2023, TikTok had over 40,000 moderators worldwide
Average moderator salary is $30,000 annually worldwide
US content moderators earn $45,000 on average per Glassdoor 2023
In Philippines, moderators paid $500/month average
65% of moderators experience burnout symptoms
PTSD rates among moderators reach 15-20%, per 2021 study
70% report anxiety from graphic content exposure
AI assists 40% of moderation decisions in 2023
Human review needed for 20% of AI-flagged content
Moderation accuracy with AI-human hybrid at 95%
Global moderation cost $10B in 2022
Meta spent $5B on safety including moderation in 2022
Outsourcing saves 60% vs in-house staffing

The global workforce of content moderators faces intense pressure, growing in size while facing serious mental and physical health challenges.

Compensation

Average moderator salary is $30,000 annually worldwide
US content moderators earn $45,000 on average per Glassdoor 2023
In Philippines, moderators paid $500/month average
Indian BPO moderators earn INR 20,000/month ($240)
Kenyan Facebook moderators make $2/hour
Overtime pay for moderators often absent, 40% report no extra
Bonuses for high-volume reviewers up to 20% salary
Health insurance covers only 30% of contract moderators
Paid leave averages 10 days/year for full-time mods
Shift differentials add 10-15% to night shifts
Performance bonuses tied to quota hits average $1,000/year
Unionized moderators earn 25% more, rare at 5% union rate
Entry-level pay starts at $12/hour in US
Senior moderators make $60,000+ with 5 years exp
Remote moderators earn 10% less than on-site
Gender pay gap shows women earn 8% less in moderation
50% of moderators report below-living-wage pay
Annual raises average 3%, below inflation
Stock options rare, <5% of moderators receive
Meal allowances provided to 40% of shift workers
Pension plans cover 20% of full-time moderators
Commission for accurate flags up to $0.10 per item

Compensation Interpretation

The global content moderation industry is a masterclass in economic disparity, where the essential guardians of our digital world are paid a pittance to absorb its worst toxins, with their compensation meticulously calibrated to reflect everything but the true cost of their labor.

Economics

Global moderation cost $10B in 2022
Meta spent $5B on safety including moderation in 2022
Outsourcing saves 60% vs in-house staffing
Revenue loss from unmoderated content $50B/year
ROI on moderation tools 5:1 per dollar spent
Fines for poor moderation exceed $1B since 2018
Ad revenue tied to safety scores impacts 20% earnings
Labor costs 70% of total moderation budget
AI investment projected $20B by 2025
Platform fines average $100M per violation case
Insurance premiums for mod trauma up 40%
Productivity loss from turnover $2B industry-wide
Volunteer mod value equivalent $5B free labor
Market growth 15% CAGR to 2030
BPO firms revenue $15B from moderation 2023
Legal settlements for mod injuries $50M+
Tax incentives reduce costs 10% in key hubs
Brand value drop 5-10% per scandal
Crowdsourcing cuts costs 50% vs full-time

Economics Interpretation

You've built a marketplace of attention so astronomically valuable that even the $10 billion spent annually on its janitors is a bargain, especially when the alternative is a $50 billion mess, countless lawsuits, and the constant, existential fear that your own house might collapse from the inside out.

Health Impact

65% of moderators experience burnout symptoms
PTSD rates among moderators reach 15-20%, per 2021 study
70% report anxiety from graphic content exposure
Depression symptoms in 40% of long-term moderators
Sleep disorders affect 55% due to shift work
Substance abuse higher by 25% vs general population
Suicide ideation reported by 12% of moderators
80% experience moral injury from decisions
Eye strain and RSI in 60% from screen time
Therapy access provided to only 25% of workforce
45% take stress leave annually
Cardiovascular risks up 30% from sedentary work
35% report panic attacks on job
Long COVID exacerbates issues in 20% post-2020
Gender differences: women 10% higher anxiety rates
Veteran moderators show 50% resilience drop after 2 years
Mindfulness programs reduce symptoms by 25%
90% exposed to CSAM weekly, highest trauma source
Homicide/violence content causes 65% nightmares
Average tenure 9 months due to health toll
75% turnover linked to mental health

Health Impact Interpretation

We are burning through the human firewalls of the internet, one shattered psyche at a time.

Technology

AI assists 40% of moderation decisions in 2023
Human review needed for 20% of AI-flagged content
Moderation accuracy with AI-human hybrid at 95%
Tools like Perspective API used by 10 platforms
Daily volume: 5M posts moderated on Facebook
Queue times average 30 seconds per item with tools
OCR tech flags 70% hate speech images
NLP models detect 85% toxicity automatically
50% reduction in human hours via AI since 2020
Custom classifiers per platform: 100+ models
Blockchain for appeals in 5% of cases
VR training simulates 80% real scenarios
API integrations speed up by 40%
Multilingual AI covers 50 languages effectively
False positives reduced to 5% with ML feedback loops
Edge computing cuts latency to 100ms
30% of tools are open-source like Detoxify
Biometric stress monitors in 10% workplaces
Gamification boosts quota by 25%
AR glasses for dual-screen review in trials
Quantum computing pilots for pattern detection
95% of violations actioned proactively by AI

Technology Interpretation

While AI now handles the grunt work of moderation with startling efficiency, the enduring need for human judgment in one-fifth of its decisions reveals that even our smartest machines still require a seasoned eye to navigate the messy nuances of online discourse.

Workforce Size

In 2022, there were approximately 100,000 content moderators employed globally across major platforms
Facebook reported employing 15,000 moderators in 2018
By 2023, TikTok had over 40,000 moderators worldwide
YouTube's moderator workforce grew by 50% from 2020 to 2022
Reddit employed 200 full-time moderators in 2021, supplemented by volunteers
Twitter (now X) had 7,500 moderators before layoffs in 2022
Meta's moderator headcount reached 20,000 by end of 2022
Instagram relied on 10,000 moderators in 2021 for image moderation
Discord had 1,200 trust and safety staff in 2023
Snapchat's moderation team expanded to 5,000 contractors in 2022
Global content moderation industry employed 500,000 workers in 2023 estimates
Accenture provided 30% of Facebook's moderators via outsourcing in 2019
Cognizant handled 15,000 moderators for social media clients in 2021
Teleperformance employed 20,000 moderators across platforms in 2022
India's BPO sector provided 100,000 moderation jobs in 2023
Philippines hosted 50,000 content moderators in 2022
Kenya's moderation workforce grew to 10,000 by 2021
60% of moderators are outsourced to third-party firms, per 2023 study
Average moderator team size per platform is 5,000-20,000
Volunteer moderators on Reddit number over 200,000
Twitch had 1,000 paid moderators in 2022
LinkedIn employed 500 moderators for professional content in 2023
Pinterest's moderation staff hit 2,000 in 2021
OnlyFans had 300 moderators managing adult content in 2022
Gaming platforms like Roblox employ 4,000 moderators
E-commerce sites like Amazon have 10,000 review moderators
Forum software like Discourse supports 1 million volunteer mods
70% of moderators are in developing countries
US-based moderators number around 20,000 total
Europe hosts 15% of global moderation workforce

Workforce Size Interpretation

This vast and grim human firewall, now numbering in the hundreds of thousands, is the silent, globalized labor force we pay in psychological trauma to keep our digital townsquares from becoming literal cesspools.

Sources & References

Logos provided by Logo.dev