Kayleigh, short of money, starts a job as a content moderator for a social media platform. The work she and her colleagues do is gruelling and disturbing.
This is a powerful, compelling, claustrophobic read, which is chilling, dark and clever too. It tackles questions of morality, what is right, what is normal and who gets to decide.
It’s all pretty awful and inevitable but is brilliantly written. I loved this book!
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All views are my own.

This is such a chilling book, which is so intelligently written and piercingly sharp in its concise form. What is most sobering is not so much the references to shocking internet content, although readers should heed trigger warnings for this book, but what it says about the insidious effects of social media on humanity. This books says so many profound things, asking questions about truth, perspective and human connection. This is a thought-provoking read that will stay with me.
With thanks to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for this digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

A witty and sharp tale about modernity with a refreshingly unique take.

Delving into the chilling world of content moderation and the sheer flexibility our morals when have when put under too much pressure, this is definitely one to make you step back from the screen and look around you.

This is a short book when you look at it but it really packs a hefty punch, its hardhitting and graphic in its content.

'We had to remove this post' is an insight into a seedy corner of the world that I'd never even thought about before, the people who are responsible for moderating the content on an unnamed huge social media platform (I know which one I was assuming it related to though!)

The content moderators quickly become immune to the horrors that they see, seeing them instead as tasks to be assessed and categorised as 'needing to be removed' or 'able to stay on'; the lists of categories and subcategories is shocking and a terrible indictment of what people will post and consume. The moderators have high targets to achieve, aiming to view and categorise 500+ per shift. Can you imagine what they would have to look at day after day, and the impact this would have on anyone?

The story is told through the medium of an interview to a lawyer preparing for a class action suit against the social media company; our narrator says that they will share their story but with conditions attached. Its also the story of our narrator's relationship with her girlfriend Sigrid and how the horrors of their job affects both of them

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read it

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher!

3.5* rounded to 4*

This was a really enjoyable, short read that I tore through in a day.

I think the premise and the believability are the strongest parts of this novella. The author has clearly done the work to make this seem very real and applicable to the modern world and social media.

It was interesting to read about what is and isn’t passable on social media, and why - I’ve definitely found myself wondering why certain things are allowed to stay up and this gives a glimpse in to that, even if it is fiction.

I also really enjoyed the depiction of how the media can influence us, especially if exposed to it for long enough - some of the characters end up believing in a flat Earth, for example, after being exposed to flat Earth content whilst they’re moderating. It was also interesting to see how the employees reacted to certain situations, which would be ordinarily very frightening, but they are almost completely de-sensitised.

Overall, I think I was expecting more of a ‘horror’ read, with a more graphic exploration of the awful content the moderators are exposed to. Whilst there is a little bit of this, there wasn’t much. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily - instead, we get a modern exploration of how these companies treat their staff who are exposed to horrific things, and how we can ‘moderate’ any content in the first place.

I was pretty baffled by the ending. It was so abrupt, that I almost thought I’d lost a few pages from my download! In turn, this left me feeling pretty disappointed.

This was definitely a thought provoking read, with some quiet, insidious developments. The premise is brilliant but the execution fell a touch short for me. I can certainly see myself picking up Hanna Bervoet’s future work!

This was a pretty disturbing, yet enjoyable read.

The book follows Kayleigh, a former content moderator for a big social media platform, and shows us how what must be an extremely difficult job, impacts her and her colleagues mental wellbeing. This is written as a letter to the lawyer who is representing her former colleagues as she takes him through the fallout that affected their lives.

Being mainly focused on the trauma inflicted on the characters, it was hard to get through some chapters, with me grimacing quite a few times. With social media being so prevalent in our everyday lives, it is easy to become desensitised to certain things online that we stumble across. Knowing that this book was inspired by true stories and real people's jobs makes it all the more shocking as you continue reading.

It has left me with a lot of curiosity and questions about social media, the internet and how it impact its users (and workers) and the ending of the book is filled with source material and articles for a bit of extra reading.

There are trigger warnings for pretty much everything but I would still recommend this as a very eye-opening and thought provoking read.

Well, this was a blistering, disturbing read, not for the faint-hearted.

We Had to Remove This Post is a novella about a group of content moderators for an unnamed tech company (I took it to be Facebook), and the fallout when they begin to suffer the consequences of the psychological warfare they are unrelentingly exposed to as part of their job.

Kayleigh takes up a job as a content moderator and soon strikes up a kinship with her cohort of workers, finding comfort in each other amidst the horrors of their job, and even finding love. But what happens when some of the group begin to go down the very rabbit-holes they are there to moderate?

Hannah Bervoets is an acclaimed, bestselling Dutch author and this is her first book translated into English. It’s a seamless, clever translation by Emma Rault, with many quoteable sentences. Here’s just one that stood out:

“ 'That video reminded me of something'. 'Of what, baby?' I said it reluctantly. Asking that question was like closing your eyes and running into a field full of dogshit, because what was she going to say?"

A gripping read that is thought-provoking, horrifying, and will leave you wanting to abandon social media and live off the fat of the land! It hit me right between the eyes. 4/5

# please note this is a novella, as described by the author #

Such premise for a book, afterall haven’t we all wondered who does the job for us of deciding what we see, we all have moaned at things removed that seem fine and been outraged as other things, clearly offensive are allowed ( well I have at any rate )
‘Hexa’ is the social media company and Kayleigh the employee, now the author states this is a work of fiction but based on facts she has found while researching ( and at the end lists these fact giving memoirs and reports ) and so initially it is interesting as we read about procedures, how and why they allow some things and not others and has to be said the archaic and grim working conditions ( some posts described are disturbing ) but then the book takes a turn and focuses pretty much solely on Kayleigh’s new relationship with Sigrid, ( I guess there is only so much you can say about what needs to be removed from social media without it being repetitive ) I didn’t really like either character and so tbh wasn’t bothered about their affair
The ending I fear I have missed something vital as read it 3 times and cant understand how relates to the rest of the book
Fantastically eye catching title with moments of real insight, but for me little else

5/10
2.5 Stars

This one-way epistolary novel, an extended letter addressed to a class action lawyer hounding the protagonist for her participation, is just as excellent as everyone says. Working as a regulator of internet content for a secretive company, Kayleigh sees the worst of the world on screen and also in person as her colleagues descend into conspiracy. My one complaint would be that we don’t really learn that much about Kayleigh, so her motivations can be a little unclear and in this very short novel there was space for more. But unfortunately the radicalisation of her peers was all too relatable. Such a timely read.

Thank you to Hannah Bervoets, NetGalley, and Picador for this book! <3

This book tells the story of a narrator who works at an offset of a company (which is facebook but not facebook because *legal reasons*) as a content moderator. Kayleigh has agreed to this job because her previous relationship left her broke and in a lot of debt and she thinks she finds it tough but okay. However, throughout the text you see her colleagues break down and start to get affected by the content they are reviewing; some suffer mentally and others start to repeat the conspiracies they are reviewing. Kayleigh starts a relationship with a woman in her team and that also gets affected by the work that they are doing.

I read this book SO QUICKLY! I really loved this novel by Bervoets and am so excited to read what she writes next! This concept was really interesting to me and I thought it was executed perfectly. The perfect psychological thriller and the narrator really wrap you up in her feelings and thoughts. I also liked the slow build to the breakdowns of the characters and what made them all snap and struggle. A book for those who are interested in our current online culture.

My only issue with this book is that I felt like it ended too quickly. It felt like there were pages missing at the end and I would have liked a resolution to the email and to the story. It just made me sad that the ending let down what would otherwise be a five-star read :(

I picked this up one morning and literally couldn't stop reading - and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. The story follows Kayleigh, who works in content moderation, and the difficulties that abound with that line of work. I work in social media generally - though mercifully not content moderation - and so much of my own experiences online were refracted back to me through this novel; it's a horror-mirror of my own work, and it is impossible to overstate how compelling I found it.
Kayleigh works for Hexa, who employ people to moderate content on definitely-not-Facebook. The novel is told in flashback, in the form of a letter - Kayleigh is refusing to become involved in a lawsuit against Hexa, for her own mysterious reasons.
What follows is a thrill-ride through the ghastly world of the dark heart of the internet - kids injure themselves, men injure animals, terrorism videos abound. Kayleigh and her fellow employees lives begin to bend and twist around the work, and the consequences begin to mount up.
As you can probably tell, I adored this book. It's so dark, a must-read for anyone who spends too much time online, but it never tips into a cautionary or lecture-y tale. Kayleigh is mysterious, compelling and very cool, and spending time with her is a pleasure despite the grim circumstances.
Bervoets has created a masterful indictment of our lives online, of late-stage capitalism (the number of characters who "need this job" despite the toll on their mental health is serious) and the power and influence of these social media mega-companies. A hard read, but it's short, brutal and unputdownable.

We Had to Remove This Post follows Kayleigh in a new job as a moderator for a social media platform. She spends her days at work reviewing a variety of abhorrent content, some very easy to verify as ‘inappropriate’ but following the companies strict guidelines creates grey areas which start to bleed into her personal life. I thought this book was brilliant and compelling. It was a masterpiece in analysing our ethics and how easy it is to hold other people to a high standard than we hold ourselves.

A short yet mighty exploration of the dark side of the internet, of social media and of humanity itself.

We Had To Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets (and translated by Emma Rault) is told from protagonist Kayleigh’s perspective as she explains her previous job to a lawyer who is representing some of her former colleagues. The job was for a social media platform reviewing content users had reported as offensive.

Content warning here! Whilst nothing is graphically described (usually only a brief sentence is used to say what the content is) I still found some of the content quite disturbing. Mentions of violence, abuse, animal cruelty, suicide and self harm.

What makes this narrative even more affecting is the way Kayleigh and her colleagues are trained to filter the offensive content. It is mostly based on finding loopholes in the law, rather than showing any empathy or humanity to those at the centre of the offensive content.

Kayleigh and her co workers are bombarded with this content day after day, and with targets to hit they skip breaks and stay late, all the time having the darkest depths of the internet forced into their minds.

Bervoets explores the toll this constant exposure to life’s cruelties can have on people, with shifting morals and changing behaviours.

Despite being a chilling and disturbing read, I found this book both fascinating and addictive. It raises interesting questions about right and wrong, who gets to decide what those things are, and who controls what we can see online. Do those who curate online content determine our world view? What if the ones who are meant to protect us lose their way?

Despite its dark subjext matter, there are tender moments within. I also liked the diverse cast of characters that didn’t seem at all tokenistic. LGBT+ characters are the norm instead of a novelty; Kayleigh is a lesbian and has girlfriends, yet no ‘big deal’ is made of it.

It is shocking, memorable and powerful. Being 144 pages works in its favour; not a single page is wasted, yet it is subtle in its delivery. The gentle unraveling of the protagonist is done with such care that the compelling finale had me stunned.

This one will stay with me a long time.

If I was to comment on this book in a few words, I'd say: interesting setting, confusing plot.

This novella focuses on a life of a content moderator - one of the employees who review public content flagged for removal and decide if it breaks the rules and should be taken down or not. The story is told by one woman and we follow her relationships - with her work colleagues, with her girlfriend, with her job.

This novella was not what I expected. It didn't really dive in deeper into the impact of watching horrifying images for a living, it didn't reflect on humanity who posts that kind of content, it didn't offer any insightful reflations on the state of society. Instead, we observed the main character's everyday life, which seemed quite average, riddled with absurd conversations and relationships of questionable health. The plotlines didn't compliment each other, the ending didn't bring any impactful conclusions... It felt a bit like this novella couldn't decide what it wanted to be.

This is a short novella that hits all of the trigger warnings and it's a pretty difficult read at times.
Imagine working for a social media platform, and your job involving reviewing videos and photos that have been reported or picked up as troublesome. Now take a step back from the sanitised version of the platform that you most likely see and imagine a much darker place; you see things that most would find extremely distressing and you have to use a very strict set of rules to decide whether the post should be removed. The mental and emotional trauma that this must cause would be overwhelming, without the added stress of having to hit targets.
This is Kayleigh's story as told, almost as a confessional, in a letter to a lawyer. And it highlights the toll that modern living takes. Very disturbing and intense.

We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets, translated by Emma Rault is out 26th May. While I can't say that it's necessarily one to pack for your summer holidays, it is an engrossing novel by a really assured writer. The book is narrated by Kayleigh, a former employee of a social media company called Hexa, which seems to be quite pointedly a stand in for Facebook, where she was a moderator assessing distressing content everyday. Kayleigh addresses her narrative to a lawyer who hopes she will give an official testimony, but she makes it clear from the start that this is the only time she will tell the story, in order to keep prying eyes away, but it won't be the exposé everyone is looking for.

The book feels claustrophobic from the get go, and the mundanity of directionless, purposeless life of the workers outside of the office feels just as crushing as the lack of support and interest in their wellbeing during work hours. The subject matters that the book touches on are distressing to read, but so too is the life of the moderator who has to view and dispassionately assess the content and to try live with what they've seen. The hopeless evenings Kayleigh and her colleagues spend drinking from flasks outside or the only nearby bar make for depressing reading, and the relationship she embarks on with a fellow moderator, Sigrid, is not the romantic escape you might hope for but a compounding of a feeling of no life within or outside the job. As the book goes on, Bervoet slowly increases the temperature as you get the feeling that the job isn't the only thing that is disrupting Kayleigh's grip on normality, and in fact it seems more and more that she and some of her colleagues were drawn to this job because of their detachment from normal life. The effects of the job aren't portrayed in a straightforward or moralising way but instead are visible on closer reading between the lines of what Kayleigh is trying to tell us.

This is a really weird, short, brilliant read that is disturbing but also really compelling. This is Bervoet's first novel to be translated into English but her seventh overall, and I hope it won't be her last.

Kayleigh needs money and takes a job as a content moderator for a social media company, reviewing offensive and disturbing content to decide what needs to be taken down. This book looks at how this effects Kayleigh and her colleagues in their everyday life as well as at work.

This is a short but very clever little book looking at the effects on the internet and social media age on our lives. It explores the idea that our content online is curated but who is going to moderate us in real life through Kayleigh and her colleagues. When her colleagues start believing in conspiracy theories Kayleigh is forced to confront whether they always believed this or whether they have been affected by the content they are there to moderate.

I thought that Kayleigh and her colleagues struggles with drugs, alcohol and mental health was really well written and explored as a reaction to what they were dealing with at work. It is portrayed as a highly stressful job and not just due to the content they are expected to view.

I really enjoyed this. It was a sharp little book full of fantastic writing and smart observations about the online world.

AD - This copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The intriguing premise of 'We had to Remove this Post' is what made me pick it up and it didn't disappoint. This small novel is concise and impactful. We follow Kayleigh an ex employee at 'Hexa' where she worked as a social media content monitor. From the beginning you are drawn into wanting to know more about Hexa and the events that lead to Kayleigh eventually leaving. The narrative perspective is interesting, the addressing of Mr Stitic effective, as the commentary is wry
and allows for the explanation and debunking of assumptions. The most interesting aspect I found was the peppering of 'Hexa guidelines' throughout the story, regarding posts i.e.what to take down and what to leave up.
The office/ corporate model is easily identifiable to anyone who has worked in similar environments - the focus on targets, close knit 'clique' colleague friendship groups, the sterile 'hot desking' office and the lack of mental health support.
The prolonged effect of monitoring such content is the main crux of the book and it is executed perfectly. My one wish is that it had been longer, as it ends quite abruptly, and I definitely wanted more.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing was sharp and captured the stifling atmosphere of the work, while also showing how such work chips away at a person's humanity.

This is a short but thought-provoking story about a young woman who works as a moderator on a social media platform, spending long shifts taking difficult decisions about content that users have reported as against 'the rules'. It's delivered as a testimony to an investigator in the first person point of view.

Anybody who has ever reported content and found it incredible that a site hasn't taken posts down will find this interesting. The unnamed site has a set of constantly evolving and changing rules that the moderators have to learn and apply at a rate of no less than 500 decisions per shift. They spend all day watching videos of violence to people and animals, racism, sexism, every ism you can think of and many you can't. There's an excellent example given which I'll paraphrase.

You can't say "All Musims are Terrorists" because Muslims are a so-called 'protected community', but you can say "All Terrorists are Muslims" because Terrorists aren't a protected community. Go figure.

The book looks at the numbing and brutalising effect of watching offensive material all day long as well as the challenges of working for organisations that control your life, time your pee breaks and ban you from taking mobile phones into the office.

I found the book very good, pretty much to the last few pages when I just found myself wondering where the ending was. It just stopped very abruptly.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers.

The novel follows content moderator Kayleigh as she reviews offensive content for a social media platform. Featuring mature themes, the author explores the toll this content can take on your humanity.

I read this book compulsively and finished it in one sitting.

The first section was successfully intriguing. The author drip feeds the reader crumbs of information that draws us in, she leaves us with questions that need answering and the only way to answer them is to continue reading.

The book was well researched, the snippets of detail that were woven in showcased aspects of the industry that most people are not aware of but do actually exist.

The way the author showcases the subtle effects the job has on different people were masterful and this helped to generate realistic and well-defined characters.

The only issue I had was with the ending and that was just because the book seemed to end very abruptly, I would have liked to see a few more pages on the situation Kayleigh found herself in.

Overall, this was a thought provoking and at times a chilling read.

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.