Article today about p**nhub

[PotholeParadies]

Warning, contains distressing information.

Very long, but it's long because every word matters.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/opinion/sunday/pornhub-rape-trafficking.html#click=t.co/bUgBiiFrYH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/opinion/sunday/pornhub-rape-trafficking.html#click=t.co/bUgBiiFrYH

Some extracts
While Pornhub would not tell me how many moderators it employs, I interviewed one who said that there are about 80 worldwide who work on Mindgeek sites (by comparison, Facebook told me it has 15,000 moderators). With1.36 million new hours of videouploaded a year to Pornhub, that means that each moderator would have to review hundreds of hours of content each week.

The moderators fast forward through videos, but it’s often difficult to assess whether a person is 14 or 18, or whether torture is real or fake. Most of the underage content involves teenagers, the moderator I spoke with said, but some comes from spy cams in toilets or changing rooms and show children only 8 to 12.

“The job in itself is soul-destroying,” the moderator said.

[...]

And call me a prude, but I don’t see why search engines, banks or credit card companies should bolster a company that monetizes sexual assaults on children or unconscious women. If PayPal can suspend cooperation with Pornhub, so can American Express, Mastercard and Visa.

And how much does this have to do with Stonewall helping the likes of Amnesty or Liberty call for children to have ‘greater bodily autonomy’?

Liberty used to have connections with PIE. We all know what Peter Tatchell thinks about underage sex and there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm in some areas for children to reach the age of consent without going through puberty first.

It’s all fucking sinister.

Also saving the link to read later.

Nicholas Kristof is a liberal at the NYt who has written a number of articles about how the left has gone mad. Well worth a read.

Predictably the purity spiral turned on him after his first column on the topic as evidenced by the follow up column he wrote. And this was about 5 years ago.

First column: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/a-confession-of-liberal-intolerance.html

Follow up: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/opinion/sunday/the-liberal-blind-spot.html

Those are really interesting articles, Sebastian.

He seems a very thoughtful man.

I read his twitter thread about his research earlier, I don't think I can bring myself to read the article. Harrowing.

@HecatesCatsInXmasHats

Thank you. Placemarking to read later as I don't think I can face it now!

Same. Seems very important but if I read this kind of stuff too early on it haunts me all day.

@PotholeParadies

Those are really interesting articles, Sebastian.

He seems a very thoughtful man.

What is so interesting to me 4.5 years on is how he is describing the seeds that have grown into where we are now - e.g. women losing their jobs or being called Conservative shills for speaking up for women's rights.

That article has rocked the boat, alright.

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard said Sunday that they are investigating their business relationship with Pornhub after a prominent newspaper columnist alleged that the pornographic website shows videos of rape and underage sex.

www.marketwatch.com/story/visa-mastercard-investigating-their-business-ties-with-pornhub-01607307806

That's really positive - glad people are paying attention.

I am glad they're paying attention but won't be surprised to hear that Pornhub have to do the bare minimum to pass an inspection. It must be hugely profitable and something tells me that a lot of people in the system won't really give too much of a shit where the money comes from.

I do wonder if all credit cards suspended working with them, would most men find a way around it quickly enough? Or would they listen to why and rethink?

That is good news, hopefully they decide that they can no longer be associated with pornhub.

It’s all fucking sinister.

It is.

‘I do wonder if all credit cards suspended working with them, would most men find a way around it quickly enough? Or would they listen to why and rethink?‘

I don’t believe that violent porn use is a natural and inevitable part of men’s sexuality so I am confident that making it harder to pay for would actually make large numbers less likely to do it. Of course there would still be many who would find a way but prevalence of use does reflect ease of availability.

"Pornhub to ban unverified uploads after child abuse content claims

Site – visited 100m times a day – to make changes following allegations it was hosting abusive and non-consensual material"

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/10/pornhub-to-ban-unverified-uploads-after-child-abuse-content-claims