Australians warned against X-rated COVID-19 cash fix
Many celebrities and everyday Aussies have turned to porn and are making thousands of dollars. But they’ve been warned the X-rated move could come with serious consequences.
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Exclusive: Australians are being warned they could be unwittingly exploited online while trying to make a quick buck during the coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands of wannabe internet stars are following in the footsteps of high profile celebrities and are turning to amateur porn online.
Data obtained by News Corp has revealed more than 200,000 Australians joined OnlyFans this year alone, with more than 5000 of them registering as content creators.
The subscription-based social media platform enables them to sell racy images and videos, with some raking in thousands of dollars a month.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant warned users it had heard of cases linked to services like OnlyFans where their content had been hacked.
“Whether they do it for money or with a more frisky rationale in mind, Australians who share explicit images on the internet can place themselves at risk of wider circulation of those images across the internet,” she said.
The site’s Australian membership first grew from more than 90,000 in 2018 to more than 283,000 last year.
OnlyFans told News Corp there is a 60/40 split of adult to non-adult content creators.
Many of the site’s celebrity users including Australian MMA fighter Bec Rawlings, personal trainer and Cosplayer Coralea Jade and model Jem Wolfie who also post behind-the-scenes content.
Users also post content related to categories including glamour (32 per cent), fitness (17 per cent), Cosplay (13 per cent), gaming (nine per cent), beauty (four per cent), lifestyle (two per cent) and other topics (23 per cent).
Sexologist Dr Nikki Goldstein believed such platforms would continue to “skyrocket”.
“When people are losing their jobs, it’s an avenue to create an income, but it’s also an avenue to connect with people because you want to create content that’s relevant to your audience,” she said.
She said users should be cautious, particularly if a potential employer were to find out.
OnlyFans marketing chief Steve Pym said the average subscription fee was about $14 and there were multiple content creators on the site regularly grossing more than $500,000 a month.
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“I would estimate a 60/40 split of adult to non-adult content creators,” he said.
“We have seen a huge increase in the mainstream/non-adult side of the business in recent months as more and more mainstream creators realise the potential to monetise their following and content.”
He added OnlyFans had various “technical measures” to prevent content theft, and a dedicated copyright team that took down any stolen content posted on third-party sites and took action against those responsible.