Moderator Mayhem

The player acts as a content moderator for a fictional social media company and requires decision making under time pressure,[5]^: 11:44 getting feedback from a manager character along the way.[1] In later rounds, the player is required to judge appeals, or rely on the advice of an AI-based content moderation system.[1][4] The gameplay is primarily swipe-based.[2][4]

While the gameplay describes the topics content moderators encounter in real life, it does not display prohibited content.[1]

Moderator Mayhem was recognized as a way to better understand content moderation and the effect of policy thereon. The hosts of This Week in Google podcast said the game demonstrates how policies affect people, and that the game itself is an example of journalism.[5]^: 12:38 Doctorow suggests it as important to discussions of content moderation, because of the impact of technology regulation on people's lives.[4] Business Punk magazine suggests it may help the player appreciate the difficulty of the task of content moderation,[6] while Rob Pegoraro of PC Magazine said the game showed him he did not want a job as a content moderator.[1] Inforrm noted the game's relevance to discussions of legal compliance, media safety and free speech.[7]

Der Standard compared the game, as well as the followup Trust & Safety Tycoon to the border guard simulator Papers, Please.[8]

In October 2023, Masnick, Lubin, and Leigh Beadon published a followup game titled Trust & Safety Tycoon.[9][10] Players are tasked with hiring moderators and deciding what to automate, simulating real social media platforms.[8] According to David Pierce of The Verge, it "is like a corporate training manual... but a good and useful one."[9]

• Announcement by Engine
• Moderator Mayhem
• Trust & Safety Tycoon