I Reported it to Blacksky; now what?
A quick run-down of what to report to the Blacksky Moderation App
Hi, it’s your friendly neighborhood content moderator, Dr. Kay. I wanted a quick write-up to help you all on the Blacksky feed know what to report to the Blacksky app and what to report to Bluesky. For those that don’t know what a content moderator is. Let me break it down for you. A content moderator for a social media website plays a vital role in maintaining a positive online environment by reviewing and managing user-generated content. They ensure everything aligns perfectly with the platform’s community guidelines, policies, and legal standards. On a typical day, my work consists of monitoring and reviewing reports you make and ensuring that those reports – if aligned with the Blacksky app guidelines – are handled. Our goal as moderators is to keep the Blacksky feed free of anti-black harassment and misogynoir and to make your experience on Bluesky as a whole enjoyable and free of harm.
Blacksky Moderation App is comprised of a small team of moderators, and technologist Rudy Fraser runs it. We get over 200-500 reports a day ranging from misogynoiristic posts to racist memes. Moderators, such as myself, have noticed that it is unclear to some users what to report to us versus what to report to Bluesky. Blacksky leverages Bluesky’s open-source Ozone moderation service to limit users’ exposure to antiblack harassment and misogynoir. Also, to prevent bad actors from getting access to the feed. This means reported posts that violate specific guidelines are yeeted from the feed, and the account can never interact with or see the feed again. Most reports align with what the Blacksky app aims to do, but there is some confusion about what should be reported to Blacksky and what should be reported solely to Bluesky. As a moderator, I have taken the time to come up with a few helpful tips for reporting posts to the Blacksky app. This is not an exhaustive list, but it can benefit you when you report a post or page.
Firstly, it is clear that not everyone is in alignment on what anti-black harassment is. The rule of thumb for a report is if it is a direct form of harm towards Black people, uses slurs, amplifies racist rhetoric, racist memes, and microaggressions. Someone being a conservative does not automatically mean they should be reported to Blacksky. If they are spewing hateful messages and posting racist memes, then report them to Blacksky. Bigotry is disgusting, and we can all agree that we do not want to see it on our skyline, but if it is not anti-black harassment, then it doesn’t need to be reported to the Blacksky app. Anti-black harassment can look like:
The n-word with the hard ‘R’
Amplifying and playing into anti-black language
Referring to Black people as animals (monkeys, roaches, etc.)
Misinformation about Black people, especially those murdered at the hands of the state and other racist people (think: Breonna Taylor, Jordan Neely, George Floyd)
Amplifying and celebrating murders of Black people
Amplifying known racists – yes, this includes podcasters
Posting racist memes
Generalizing Black people through the use of harmful stereotypes
Now, for misogynoir, I know this can be tricky. Misogyny and misogynoir are NOT the same. Misogynoir is a term that was coined by Black feminist Dr. Moya Bailey in 2008. That is defined as the anti-black racism and sexism towards Black women, femmes, agender folk, and gender-expansive people in digital and visual culture. For something to be misogynoirisitc in nature, it must be directed at Black women or femmes. Generalized statements about women as a whole are not misogynoiristic. If it is targeting any other group of women who are NOT Black, it is NOT misogynoir. Transmisogynoir falls under this form of harm as well. If a post discusses Black trans women negatively, then it is a form of misogynoir. When reporting, ask yourself: “Is this directed at Black women and femmes?” If the answer is NO, report to Bluesky. To make things a bit plainer, I have added a few examples of things to report that perpetuate misogynoir (again, this is not an exhaustive list; it is just a few examples):
Harmful stereotypes and controlling images (think: Welfare Queen, Jezebel, “Ghetto Black Girl,” Etc.)
Slurs towards Black women
Misogynoiristic memes
Hypersexualzation of Black women
Transphobic language that directly targets Black trans women (think: rhetoric around what a “real” woman is)
Gaslighting Black women’s experiences with violence (think: Black feminicide, gun violence towards Black women, intimate partner violence)
So, I say all of this to say that there are things that you do NOT need to report to the Blacksky app. Bluesky has its own moderation for things that do not impact Black folk. You can also report anti-black harassment and misogynoir to Bluesky AND Blacksky app at the same time to keep it off all feeds, but we, the moderators, can only remove content that impacts us. Blacksky app is a FUBU production – for us, by us, and made to protect US. Now, go out and enjoy the Blacksky feed. Remember, when you feel the need to report something and are unsure if it falls under the purview of the Blacksky app, come back to this write-up.
Stay well,
Dr. Kay
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator