Moderator Mayhem is a casual web-based video game designed by Engine, Randy Lubin, and Mike Masnick of Techdirt targeted towards policymakers. The game is about the challenges of content moderation of user-generated content on social media.

According to Cory Doctorow, the video game is based on a card game Masnick used to teach people about the difficulties of content moderation.

It is designed for mobile phones but can also be played on personal computers.

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

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

Reception
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.  Doctorow suggests it as important to discussions of content moderation, because of the impact of technology regulation on people's lives. Business Punk magazine suggests it may help the player appreciate the difficulty of the task of content moderation, while Rob Pegoraro of PC Magazine said the game showed him he did not want a job as a content moderator. Inforrm noted the game's relevance to discussions of legal compliance, media safety and free speech.

References

External links
 Announcement by Engine
 Moderator Mayhem

2023 video games
Browser games
Browser-only games
Casual games
Simulation video games
Content moderation