For years, social media platforms and YouTube have been criticized for silently providing users with explicit material. In one recent case, Meta was found to be running Instagram ads promoting child sexual abuse material, some with AI-generated images, and was ordered by the Indian government to remove them. But there are many other ways to promote sexually explicit material on seemingly innocuous social media apps. The latest addition to this dirty chain of events is TikTok.
According to research from the UK’s Center to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) and Australia’s Collective Shout, TikTok has become a funnel for promoting adult content hosted on platforms such as OnlyFans. The report, titled “The TikTok to OnlyFans Pipeline: How TikTok Promotes, Normalizes and Glamorizes the Sex Industry,” is the result of a year-long investigation into how OnlyFans is being normalized on the platform.
“After more than a year on the platform, I have come to the conclusion that TikTok acts like an industrial-scale digital pimp, funneling girls into the sex industry through a frictionless pipeline,” Melinda Tankard Reist, movement director at Collective Shout, said in an interview Press release. The report describes numerous ways in which OnlyFans content is secretly promoted on TikTok, a platform with a high proportion of young users.
Corn emojis, dazzling castings and a link in the bio
According to the report, certain YouTubers insert coded references to their OnlyFans accounts into seemingly innocuous lifestyle content, such as “get ready with me” videos, shopping trips, and even baking or pet clips. Cast members can use the word “corn” instead of “porn” or combine a corn emoji with a star emoji. These accounts also rely on emojis, gestures and suggestive usernames that lead viewers to the links in their profiles and ultimately to explicit material on sites like OnlyFans and Fansly. TikTok is also not the only platform where such patterns exist. To this day, it’s easy to spot the same tactics on YouTube, Instagram, and even Snapchat.
Many of these videos also flaunt a lavish lifestyle, with cash, big houses, private jets and expensive cars, all supposedly paid for with OnlyFans earnings. This message is just a strong incentive for more young women to consider joining the platform. Back in July, a News Corp investigation found that underground agents were targeting underage girls on social media, promising them fame and money on OnlyFans once they turned 18.
Researchers also found that TikTok hosts audition videos for Bop House, a Miami-based production house whose rotating group of women sells sexual content on OnlyFans. Would-be recruits respond by posting sexually suggestive dances tagged with the tag “Bop House Recruitment.” While these accounts don’t explicitly promote OnlyFans, their subtle hints can easily point viewers in the right direction.
“TikTok strictly prohibits the sharing or display of sexual content and we use advanced technologies to enforce our community guidelines. Additionally, our systems are designed to prevent age-inappropriate content from reaching youth,” TikTok said in a statement shared with The Guardian.
It won’t be the first time TikTok has run into trouble. The company is already facing multiple investigations and lawsuits accusing it of developing an addictive algorithm that serves young users unhealthy content, often leading to worsening body image, self-esteem and mental health issues.
