Only fans
OnlyFans is a social media platform founded in 2016 and based in London, England that allows creators to place their content behind a paywall for subscribers only. According to BuzzFeed News, "several terabytes" of content were hacked on Thursday, February 27, even though OnlyFans denies that there was any breach of his system.
Here's what you need to know about the social media platform and the 'hacking' that has taken place.
1. The leak mainly concerns pornographic images and videos
While OnlyFans contains content from fitness experts, makeup tutorials and other types of content creators, this is an extremely popular site for adult movie stars and sex workers, as they can host adult content behind a paywall. According to BuzzFeed, most hacked data consists of pornographic images and videos and The Verge reports that the leaked accounts are mostly owned by women.
Scottish journalist Vonny LeClerc first noticed the leak when she saw the trend on Twitter in the UK on Thursday. She doesn't know how the leak was made up, but she told BuzzFeed that she found at least five Mega files being broadcast on social media. She writes on Twitter that she "doesn't know if this is a hack or an aggregation of many instances of stolen / leaked data."
The disclosed information is organized into a directory containing a folder for each content creator. BuzzFeed accessed the directory through cloud storage site Mega and says it includes Instagram models, porn stars, TikTok and more adult content creators. LeClerc says the Twitter trend has attracted “trolls who are now victim-blaming and calling women ‘degenerates’.”
2. OnlyFans says all pirated content is from other social media platforms
A representative ofOnlyFans tells BuzzFeed there's no breach or hack, it's just someone or a group of people working to piece together the leaked content.
"We have investigated allegations of a site-wide hack and have found no evidence of any breach of our systems," the spokesperson told BuzzFeed. "The content in the alleged 'leak' appears to come from a number of sources, including other social media apps."
Steve Pym, Marketing ManagerOnlyFans, repeated this statement on Twitter. Neither responded to follow-up questions from BuzzFeed as to whether OnlyFans had taken steps to stop the spread of this pirated content. So what seems to be happening is that paywall content is transferred for free and there is nothing content creators can do to stop it.
Content creator Dee Siren told BuzzFeed that this is unfair to creators, whose work "should be protected like any other artist would be in any other industry."
3. Only Fans can be a lucrative business for creators, so any content leaks hurt their revenue stream
According to a recent profile ofOnlyFans in the New York Times, the site's top earners earn tens of thousands of dollars a month. Dannii Harwood, a longtime adult entertainer, showed them what she did from August to November 2019, which ranged from nearly $30000 to over $50000 a month.
But even outside of the highest incomes, content creators can earn a decent income. Chanel Santini, a newcomer to adult entertainment at age 21, still earns at least $ 8000 a month, which is significantly better than what she did as an adult movie star in Las Vegas, where concerts could pay as little as $ 400. She also told The Times that she once worked for a lady who threatened her with violence and stole her money.
Whether it's a hack or just a compilation of pirated material, any leaked content hurts the bottom line for the content creators. As pornstar Jewels Jade tells BuzzFeed, “This is private paid content that we own. It is illegal and a violation of our rights. "
LeClerc adds thatOnlyFans is a way for many non-traditional sex workers to access a source of income.
“A lot of people who use [OnlyFans] rely on that as a source of income – young people, trans and non-binary people, people with disabilities, people who may not have the easiest access to traditional employment,” says LeClerc. “It allows anyone to create paywall-protected adult content. But clearly, it offers no protection to creators, whose content can be purchased and then freely distributed. »
4. Content creators can check if they are part of the hacked accounts
The Guild of Adult Performers has a video which scrolls through the folders of all accounts compiled on the Mega cloud site so content creators can check if they have been affected. But that still doesn't give them any redress for their pirated content.
"It's heartbreaking to see the content that we all worked so hard to create just getting thrown into the hands of the wrong people," an OnlyFan user who wishes to remain anonymous told BuzzFeed. "From what I've seen, pretty much everyone who has an account on OnlyFans have been leaked, but it's such an amount of storage that I doubt anyone will be seen."
Daly Barnett, a technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, tells BuzzFeed that these types of leaks are all too common, citing additional leaks on PussyCash and iWantClips and saying the platforms aren't doing enough to protect their creators.
“This breach is another marker of an unfortunate trend. These platforms routinely have a terrible security posture and response to objectionable incidents, ”Barnett said, adding,“ I think these platforms are only interested [in] avoiding legal issues… while doing the best they can. benefit their users. "
5. Remarkable OnlyFans Creators include Courtney Stodden and Kaylen Ward
Reality TV star Courtney Stodden famous for her marriage at the age of 51 Lost Actor Doug Hutchison in 2011, when she was 16, is a user ofOnlyFans well known. In 2017, she started a £15 monthly subscription only to the platform allowing fans to see her naked, according to the London Mirror.
Love Island Star Megan Barton-Hanson did the same in 2018, and in January 2020 Kaylen Ward raised over $ XNUMX million for charities that are fighting and helping those affected by bushfires in Australia. Ward, who calls himself "The Naked Philanthropist," also recently raised funds for Puerto Rico following the devastating earthquakes that recently hit the island.
In addition to sending nudes to anyone who donates at least $10 to Puerto Rican earthquake relief organizations, Ward also told Business Insider that she will donate 30% of her profits fromOnlyFans to Puerto Rican charities.
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