Apr 9, 2026 8:29am PT

As Social Media Tears Society Apart, a New Crop of Scary Movies Focuses on the Horror of Content Moderation

William Earl

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William Earl

@beautifulbill

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As Social Media Tears Society Apart, a New Crop of Scary Movies Focuses on the Horror of Content Moderation

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Courtesy of Independent Film Company / Shudder

Horror movies have always reflected the social climate of their times. From post-WWI trauma in the ’20s to feminism and bodily autonomy in the ’70s to 9/11 anxieties in the early aughts, even if the films weren’t overtly political, they reflected real-life jitters.

Today, as social media continues to splinter relationships and spread fake news, content moderators — the poor souls doomed to monitor posts all day to determine if they are “dangerous” — are popping up as characters in scary movies. Just this spring, three new films center on online moderators, and while all are frightening, the stories spin in different directions.