diff --git a/src/components/moderation/ModerationQueue.tsx b/src/components/moderation/ModerationQueue.tsx
index 27805190..4715c40e 100644
--- a/src/components/moderation/ModerationQueue.tsx
+++ b/src/components/moderation/ModerationQueue.tsx
@@ -103,7 +103,6 @@ export const ModerationQueue = forwardRef<ModerationQueueRef>((props, ref) => {
   const fetchInProgressRef = useRef(false);
   const itemsRef = useRef<ModerationItem[]>([]);
   const loadedIdsRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set());
-  const lastFetchTimestampRef = useRef<string | null>(null);
 
   // Get admin settings for polling configuration
   const { 
@@ -207,12 +206,8 @@ export const ModerationQueue = forwardRef<ModerationQueueRef>((props, ref) => {
         submissionsQuery = submissionsQuery.neq('submission_type', 'photo');
       }
 
-      // Silent polling: fetch submissions created OR updated since last poll
-      if (silent && lastFetchTimestampRef.current) {
-        submissionsQuery = submissionsQuery.or(
-          `submitted_at.gt.${lastFetchTimestampRef.current},updated_at.gt.${lastFetchTimestampRef.current}`
-        );
-      }
+      // Always fetch ALL pending/partially_approved submissions
+      // Let ID-based tracking determine what's "new" instead of timestamp filtering
 
       // CRM-style claim filtering: moderators only see unclaimed OR self-assigned submissions
       // Admins see all submissions
@@ -435,17 +430,10 @@ export const ModerationQueue = forwardRef<ModerationQueueRef>((props, ref) => {
       const currentPreserveInteraction = preserveInteractionRef.current;
       
       if (silent) {
-        // Update timestamp using actual data timestamps, not current time
-        if (moderationItems.length > 0) {
-          const maxTimestamp = Math.max(
-            ...moderationItems.map(item => new Date(item.updated_at || item.created_at).getTime())
-          );
-          lastFetchTimestampRef.current = new Date(maxTimestamp).toISOString();
-        }
-        
-        // Background polling: behavior controlled by admin settings
-        const currentLoadedIds = loadedIdsRef.current;
-        const newSubmissions = moderationItems.filter(item => !currentLoadedIds.has(item.id));
+        // Background polling: detect new submissions by comparing IDs
+        // Use currently DISPLAYED items (itemsRef) not loadedIdsRef to avoid false positives
+        const currentDisplayedIds = new Set(itemsRef.current.map(item => item.id));
+        const newSubmissions = moderationItems.filter(item => !currentDisplayedIds.has(item.id));
         
         if (newSubmissions.length > 0) {
           console.log('🆕 Detected new submissions:', newSubmissions.length);
@@ -458,6 +446,7 @@ export const ModerationQueue = forwardRef<ModerationQueueRef>((props, ref) => {
             // Track these IDs as loaded to prevent re-counting on next poll
             if (uniqueNew.length > 0) {
               const newIds = uniqueNew.map(item => item.id);
+              const currentLoadedIds = loadedIdsRef.current;
               loadedIdsRef.current = new Set([...currentLoadedIds, ...newIds]);
               setNewItemsCount(prev => prev + uniqueNew.length);
             }
@@ -508,11 +497,15 @@ export const ModerationQueue = forwardRef<ModerationQueueRef>((props, ref) => {
       } else {
         // Normal fetch: Load all items and reset pending
         console.log('🔄 Manual refresh - replacing entire queue');
-        lastFetchTimestampRef.current = null; // Reset timestamp to fetch everything next time
         setItems(moderationItems);
         setPendingNewItems([]);
         setNewItemsCount(0);
-        console.log('📋 Queue loaded with', moderationItems.length, 'submissions');
+        
+        // Initialize loadedIdsRef on first load or manual refresh
+        if (loadedIdsRef.current.size === 0 || !silent) {
+          loadedIdsRef.current = new Set(moderationItems.map(item => item.id));
+          console.log('📋 Queue loaded - tracking', loadedIdsRef.current.size, 'submissions');
+        }
       }
 
     } catch (error: any) {
diff --git a/supabase/migrations/20251009133219_ad66553a-d991-4684-bdc6-5a7548dd12a2.sql b/supabase/migrations/20251009133219_ad66553a-d991-4684-bdc6-5a7548dd12a2.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b9d67d7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/supabase/migrations/20251009133219_ad66553a-d991-4684-bdc6-5a7548dd12a2.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+-- Fix the update trigger to only update updated_at when actual content changes
+-- This prevents false "new submission" detection in the moderation queue
+
+-- Drop and recreate the trigger function to add proper change detection
+DROP TRIGGER IF EXISTS update_content_submissions_updated_at ON public.content_submissions;
+DROP FUNCTION IF EXISTS public.update_content_submissions_updated_at();
+
+CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION public.update_content_submissions_updated_at()
+RETURNS TRIGGER AS $$
+BEGIN
+  -- Only update updated_at if actual content has changed
+  -- Ignore changes to: updated_at, assigned_to, assigned_at, locked_until, priority
+  IF (
+    NEW.content IS DISTINCT FROM OLD.content OR
+    NEW.status IS DISTINCT FROM OLD.status OR
+    NEW.reviewer_id IS DISTINCT FROM OLD.reviewer_id OR
+    NEW.reviewer_notes IS DISTINCT FROM OLD.reviewer_notes OR
+    NEW.escalated IS DISTINCT FROM OLD.escalated OR
+    NEW.escalation_reason IS DISTINCT FROM OLD.escalation_reason OR
+    NEW.approval_mode IS DISTINCT FROM OLD.approval_mode
+  ) THEN
+    NEW.updated_at = NOW();
+  END IF;
+  
+  RETURN NEW;
+END;
+$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
+
+CREATE TRIGGER update_content_submissions_updated_at
+  BEFORE UPDATE ON public.content_submissions
+  FOR EACH ROW
+  EXECUTE FUNCTION public.update_content_submissions_updated_at();
\ No newline at end of file